Coconut Grove

Today’s adventure brings us to the beautiful city of Miami in Florida. Although I did not have much time to explore, I did get to see a little bit of Coconut Grove which is considered to be a village within the city has great shopping and some wonderful restaurants. The streets are great to walk around and browse boutiques, walk by the bay or visit the park. It did not feel like I was in a city of 400,000 people!

We stayed at the Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove which was a wonderful property in the heart of the area. There was on property dining and spa services but there were some special perks that were super unique. I loved the suntan lotion bar by the pool. They literally set up a table display with different SPF lotions (including a bottle of aloe). I’ve never seen this and thought it was a wonderful idea.

The other unique feature that jumped out was the huge peacock mural down by their event space. I’m a huge fan of peacocks so am drawn to that theme. It was a total Instagram space with #RCMemories and #RitzCarltonCoconutGrove painted on the wall as well.

We made our way to lunch at The Peacock Garden Bistro which was a quick walk from the hotel in the heart of Coconut Grove. I knew I was going to love it as soon as we got there. In the large trees by the entrance, there are crystal chandeliers hanging from the branches. I was sold. We were immediately seated and spotted a huge drink in a mason jar at another table. What was that? a tropical fruit mimosa. I couldn’t even finish mine by the end of the meal. It was huge!

Dinner was outside by the bay at Monty’s Raw Bar. Live music, yachts, drinks, great food… What more can you ask for? Our server was awesome too. He was pretty busy so service at the beginning was a bit slow but I’ve worked in the food service industry before and totally get it. We were there to enjoy the atmosphere anyways. Drinks were great and those magically turned into shots so overall, it was a great night. It was fun to watch the marina from our seats. There were boaters going to and from their vessels throughout the evening. How fun would it be to go out on the water at night and see the Miami skyline?

Yes, we had to Uber and yes, we stopped at the liquor store to grab champagne on our way back but don’t judge… We had a great night. Our room was very spacious and clean. There was a large marble tub in the bathroom so I had to take advantage of a nice soak with my champagne.

I absolutely loved waking up in the morning and having coffee out on the balcony as we watched the sun rise over the city. Although we were not in the city for long, it was a perfect starting point for our Caribbean cruise out of the Miami port. The ride was only about 20 minutes so we did not have to worry about missing the ship. One check-list item I plan is coming into the departure city at least the day before to make sure I do not run into any issues with a flight delay or cancellation. It is really expensive to catch up with a ship at the next port if you miss the boarding time! I think it is the best way to get a head start on your relaxing cruise vacation.