Last week I headed down to Miami for a very special occasion, a big party for my great Aunt’s 100th birthday. Due to a very hectic schedule I couldn’t make a real vacation out of it but nonetheless managed to pack a lot of fun into just 24 hours. Because the party was in Aventura I opted to stay at the St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort, flying into Fort Lauderdale which is much less stressful than flying into Miami International. The last time I visited Miami I stayed at the Four Seasons Surfside (which you can read about here) so it was fun comparing and contrasting the two (spoiler alert, each one excels in different areas).
The St. Regis Bal Harbour opened it’s doors in 2012 and I visited along with my family shortly thereafter; returning 13 years later it was nice to see little had changed. The glitzy entrance remained the same, though much of artwork seems to have been updated thanks to the Opera Gallery which maintains a small gallery on property.
If you are an art lover it is fun to discover surprises at every turn.
For this short trip I actually booked using my Bonvoy points, something that I had never taken advantage of before, so it was fun to feel as though the stay was free! Even though I wasn’t a paying guest I felt that the level of service and numerous communications I received from the hotel were excellent. I booked a Grand Luxe Ocean View Suite with my points and was extremely pleased with the room (for the record it was far nicer than the room I stayed in at the Four Seasons Surfside).
Unfortunately, my sister who booked conventionally was unlucky with her room; the air conditioner didn’t work properly, her toilet ran constantly and she couldn’t open her shades. They seemed to address her issues by the time we left (and delivered champagne and chocolate covered strawberries as an apology) so I’m not sure which of our stays was more representative of the current state of affairs at the St. Regis, but all I know is that my room was problem-free.
The facilities at the hotel are lovely and well maintained, and again, each and every staff member I encountered was helpful and friendly. Miami was in the middle of a very hot spell so although we planned to take a walk down the beach we quickly returned to the comfort of the air conditioning. If you happen to be in need of a blow-out due to the extreme humidity, the salon in the hotel is excellent.
Our only dining experience at the St. Regis was breakfast at Atlantikós which was unfortunately really basic. I was honestly quite surprised at the level of mediocrity; the FS Surfside has the advantage in this category.
In addition to the disappointing breakfast at the hotel we did manage to squeeze in a bunch of meals during our short stay, starting with a quick healthy lunch at the local branch of Pura Vida. Better than my Jen’s Herb salad (which was really quite satisfying) was the people watching, which did not disappoint!
A little more indulgent was dinner at Motherwolf, an LA favorite that opened in October of 2024 and as a fan of Evan Funke’s LA restaurants I was anxious to see how the Miami branch compared. After shopping in the Design District we showed up for an early reservation (6:45 pm) expecting the restaurant to be relatively empty but surprisingly it was busy, and getting busier as the night went on. The atmosphere is dark and moody, perfect for a romantic evening so perhaps I will return in the future with my husband, that being said my sister and I enjoyed a delicious meal as well very solicitous service. One note, there are no gluten-free alternatives as far as pasta or pizza crust so I stuck with a Panzanella Salad (without the bread) as well as Gemberi in Salsa Verde which was garlicky enough that I knew the vampires would stay away. My sister had the Fettucine al Limone which she deemed delicious.
Another restaurant in a popular shopping destination (the Bal Harbour Shops) that we visited was Carpaccio which also featured excellent people watching as well as large portions of Italian American specialties and competent service. In truth the Niçoise Salad (called the St. Tropez here) was fine aside from the unpleasant oily artichoke bits that were a surprise. I was able to substitute Italian tuna for the seared fresh tuna which is always my preference.
As far as what we did other than eating…the birthday party was a tremendous highlight.
Of course when traveling with my middle sister the focus is always shopping, and this trip was no different. First stop for us was the Design District, a neighborhood filled with high-end shops as well as art installations and restaurants.
In addition to the Design District we visited the shops at Bal Harbour once in the early morning (conveniently located directly across from the St. Regis) to do a quick reconnaissance and again later in the day. Ultimately were able to spend some extra time there due to our flight being delayed, and delayed again. The brands represented are all those you would expect (minus Hermès which is only at the Design District) plus branches of Neimans and Saks all surrounding a plethora of greenery, orchids, koi, and turtles!
We had a terrific quick trip to Miami filled with celebration, yummy food, an indulgent hotel stay and retail therapy; sometimes 24 hours is all you need for a perfect mini vacation.