South Beach ? pre cruise hotel

Is this a good area to stay pre cruise? On Collins Avenue.... I'm looking at Dream Hotel in South Beach, 1111 Collins Avenue. Any pros or cons?

For New Year's Eve? :confused:

Popular area and it will be a crazy party scene that night. I would check trip advisor for hotel reviews.

My experience is that you will find very few people who have knowledge of hotels such as Dream Hotel. I agree with JohninDC and would highly recommend reading reviews at http://www.tripadvisor.com

Keith

Yes, it is a nice hotel and I would definitely stay there!

We get to Miami early on the day before cruise. South Beach looks awesome to me.... way better than one of the major hotel chains. It was rated 4 **** on Trip Advisor. I went through Priceline and got a room for $175 (staying late January...not new years eve). I just wanted to know if it's in a nice area and safe area of Miami.

South Beach is a nice area.

But like any city when you walk around and say are in crowds be careful with your valuables.

Keith

We get to Miami early on the day before cruise. South Beach looks awesome to me.... way better than one of the major hotel chains. It was rated 4 **** on Trip Advisor. I went through Priceline and got a room for $175 (staying late January...not new years eve). I just wanted to know if it's in a nice area and safe area of Miami.

Yes, there is crime in South Beach. Do not walk on the beach at night, never leave your valuables on the beach while you swim, never leave anything in plain sight in your car even if it is locked, don't wander any side streets at night that aren't well lit, don't get wasted, really just common sense things but you'd be surprised of the people that have none.

Safe? It depends on your behavior.

South Beach is very similar to many cities. I would not recommend leaving items on any beach while you swim, nor walk around late a night in unlit areas and such. Just trying to put this into perspective. It's a city. Always be aware of your surroundings and limit what valuable you have on hand as you should do in just about any major city through the USA>

Keith

thanks so much for the info!! :p

I've only been to South Beach once, and it was for about 2 hours. From what I saw, this place is very young, hip, ultra-cool, and a bit pretentious. I had a lot of fun here (and would go back in an instant) but I also felt out of place a bit. Not sure if that makes sense... maybe if I was 15 years younger, slightly better looking, had more expensive clothes, a better car, and more cash in my wallet, I'd feel a bit more at ease. LOL. Anybody else feel this way?

I've only been to South Beach once, and it was for about 2 hours. From what I saw, this place is very young, hip, ultra-cool, and a bit pretentious. I had a lot of fun here (and would go back in an instant) but I also felt out of place a bit. Not sure if that makes sense... maybe if I was 15 years younger, slightly better looking, had more expensive clothes, a better car, and more cash in my wallet, I'd feel a bit more at ease. LOL. Anybody else feel this way?

No. South Beach is mainly filled with conventioneers unless it is something like New Years Eve, Memorial Weekend, or Ultra/Winterfest Music Festival.

Those expensive sports cars are leased by tourists and the locals you see dropping cash are what we call $30,000 millionaires meaning they live at home with mom and dad at 30, lease that Mercedes for $1000 a month and max out their credit cards on overpriced bottle service and Armani.

The only time I ever feel out of place on South Beach is during Art Basel when all the super hip Euros and South Americans flock here for the art.

Otherwise, at 49 years old, South Beach is for everyone.

Celebs like Diddy and Madonna left South Beach years ago.