16 replies to this topic

[Jack Reed]

At least some of the MCB fans who post here travel some distance to see the company.  Would you like to compare notes on places to stay, for example in South Beach?  I've yet to find a place there that's as quiet as the "mom and pop" motels I use in Ft. Lauderdale.  Or can you all sleep anywhere, or, worse, are you all like the New Yorker who couldn't sleep in the country because it was too quiet?

[Farrell Fan]

"I don't like the country; the crickets make me noivous." -- Terry Molloy (Marlon Brando) in "On the Waterfront."  

[Mel Johnson]

If you decide to rough it, just remember two things:  

1)  Not under an avocado bush.

2)  DEFINITELY not under a coconut palm!

[glebb]

There is a place called The Abbey Hotel, Jack (sorry I no longer have the phone number but maybe you can find their website.)  One can see Miami City Ballets studios from the front door of the hotel.  It is also quite close to the ocean.

It is not exactly mom and pop, but it is elegant and quiet.

[Karen]

I have stayed at some pretty nice hotels along South Beach.  And paid a high price.  Botton -line these are all beach hotels.  I have atayed at the Holiday Inn directy across the street from MCB.  The rooms are all just as nice and the price about $150-200 a night cheaper!  The Foutainbleau, Rooney, and The Palms are the ones I have stayed in the past 2 years.  I prefer the Hoilday Inn.  It has FREE parking and beach chairs.  You can walk right across the street to the studios and a short drive to the theater. B)

[PK]

Jack, The Marseilles (great breakfast)is also a close walk to MCB but it's on a nicer block than the Holiday Inn, so you can go into the lobbies of the magnificent Hotel and have a little drink and dinner. That really big hotel with the movie stars hanging out is right next door(name escapes me). :rolleyes: You can also stroll on Lincoln Ave.up a block.Since this is on Collins Av.you can actually get some sleep,where on nearby Ocean Dr. there's constant partying.Holiday Inn is surprisingly nice but is in a more funky area of town.

[Vicarmac]

Last winter we used the Townhouse it is on 20th street, ocean side and close  to the MCB studios not quite as close as the Abbey but almost. One of those boutique, minimal places but we liked it. Got a good rate on line too. We stayed at the Abbey too and were happy with it, but perfered the Townhouse. It is a little quieter at that northern end of South Beach but closer to the action than say the Fountainbleu. You are also close enough to where they perform to walk there also. Of course having a car there is a pain, most don't have parking but might offer valet. And the street is like 50 cents an hour or half hour 24 hours a day in many places.
Of course I keep telling everyone come to Naples to see them, they have a "live" symphony and it is a beautiful theatre with no bad seats. You can find a link for the Naples Philharmonic on the MCB site I believe. They will do most of the same programs 2 nights each in January, Febuary and March. They do Nut at Thanksgiving and usually something in December but don't know this year.
It is only 2 hours or less from Miami to Naples on the west coast just across Alligator Alley. Talk about quiet but beautiful and affordable and close enough to combine with a livier trip on the East coast.
No I don't work for the tourist counsel or even in Naples but I go to see Miami there all the time.

[Jack Reed]

What a wealth of information already!  What a great bunch you are!

I looked at a room in the Abbey in January, and found elegant styling all right, but the top (third) floor at the back (southwest) corner, the furthest from the street corner the building stands on, was afflicted by a prodigious amount of rumble from the central-air-conditioning equipment on the roof, so, glebb and Vicarmac, I'd like to know where and when you stayed there.  Certainly the immediate neighborhood seemed pretty quiet, at least at dinner time, when I was there.

I especially appreciate comments about neighborhoods, because I am just a little famiiar with Ocean Drive and Collins around First and Second Streets, having stayed at the Century down there.  (It's been just acceptable as to quiet, usually.)

[nysusan]

Could you recommend some of those mom & pop motels in Ft. Lauderdale?  I'm a New Yorker who's decided to take a trip down to South Florida to see MCB. I have family near Ft. Lauderdale so I decided to go to Broward instead of South Beach.   I have a reservation at the Riverside Hotel for this trip but I'd be interested to see what you recommend for future trips...
I have no problem with quiet country motels, but I don't drive so I'm looking for a place to stay where I'd be comfortable walking to the theatre, or where it would be easy to get a cab!    

[Jack Reed]

nysusan, I'm afraid my favorite "mom and pop" motels won't help you much, because they're easy walking distance from the beach rather than from the Broward Center, as the Riverside Hotel seemed to be when I finally located it on the map, but they are Robindale Suites, 15 units, 800-342-7109, and the Winterset, 29 units, 800-888-2639.  I found them through their membership in the Superior Small Lodging association, which does not seem to have any members nearer the BCPA than the Isle of Venice, which isn't very near.  

There must be (land) taxis in Ft. Lauderdale; I've not noticed them, in contrast to New York.  I usually rent a car for my stay.  (Does staying on the Isle of Venice or some similar part of the extensive waterways on the east side of town and getting to the performances by water taxi appeal?  I've never tried it myself.)  

I hope this helps at least some.

[nysusan]

Jack, thanks for the info.  I saw a website for a small hotel on the Isle of Venice (or it might have been the Isle of Capri), and it really looked charming.  I was going to check it out the last time I was in FLL visiting my family but never got the chance.  Instead, my brother & I went to Los Olas to hang out & hear some music & I found myself standing in front of the Riverside Hotel.  It seemed to have an old world charm and I believe it's a landmark building - and right in the middle of the Las Olas "strip".  I decided it would be a very convenient & central place for my first trip to see MCB.   In the future I'd love to try some of the small hotels you recommend near the beach as long as I can cab to and from the Broward center. When I'm out there in March I plan to check out the land & water taxi situations  and hopefully that will open up more options for future visits.  

Thanks again for the recommendations.  Whenever I've gone to So. Florida in the past my trip has always been centered around either family or work, so I'm really looking forward to this "ballet centric" trip.

[scoop]

Hi Susan, I used to live in Fort Lauderdale (coincidentally on one of those isles off Las Olas that you and Jack were talking about) and on a trip back several years ago I stayed at the Riverside. I really liked it -- it's historic and yet simply and elegantly decorated, not frilly and flowery. One thing re taxis, in most parts of town it's hard to find one. You generally have to call ahead, they're not just there on the streets. But I'm sure the hotel can call one for you. Have a great trip!

[nysusan]

Good advise Scoop (about the taxi's). I'm really looking forward to the trip. Didn't quite realize how far away the date was when I booked it!

Susan

[Jack Reed]

Naples, anyone?

I'm looking for a simple, quiet mom-and-pop motel with kitchenettes at least a block from the highway and not too many blocks from a swimming beach in Naples or, maybe better yet, closer to the Naples Philharmonic Center, which, I've learned, is about five miles north of central Naples.  Any recommendations?  Or cautionary bad experiences?  Anyone know the Vanderbilt Beach Motel?

[nlkflint]

Jack

Vicarmac is a ballet parent who might not see this now that the boards are separate, but she is from the west coast of Florida and might know of a place--or might not.  You could email her and ask if she has any info.  I do not think she would mind a PM.  

I am from the FL east coast--a bit north of Miami and can;t give you any info on Naples.  Sorry