While spending my holidays in Miami as I do every year, I noticed a striking difference this year and one certainly not for the better. Almost overnight, the sunny city has become the new Acapulco- as in anyone who’s been born and bred in an exit off the LIE has made a mass exodus to South Beach to flaunt their Fake Bake tans and Fendi aviators in hopes of attracting a likeminded lost soul.
Sure Miami has always prided itself on a fair amount of cheese- but at least it was local. Imported Swiss is a little too much to handle. When the calendar strikes December 26, each hotel dutifully converts itself into a circus-like spectacle of the beautiful, bodacious and bourgeois looking to party. Quelle horreur.
And The Shore Club is the worst. What used to be Miami’s answer to St. Tropez’s Club 55, the aforementioned pool is now MTV Spring Break on steroids and Rachel Zoe horse tranquilizers. I spent about 20 minutes there in awe. There really are no words unfortunately, just pure disgust. Who knew thong bikinis and combat boots were making a comeback- or were they ever there in the first place?
There is hope, however, for a new Miami that is surprisingly simultaneously arising as the antithesis of the “scene”. This Miami is worth checking out. Not only has South Beach become the new Mecca for raw foodists and yogis, the same is true for art enthusiasts and fashionistas. Not that I’m advocating a sin-free lifestyle- au contraire. You can have your Mojito and drink it too, just without a side of cheese induced vomit.
Final Word: It’s true Miami isn’t what it used to be- it’s a bi-polar city of vice and vision- maybe that’s why I love it so much. Here’s a list of what insiders and you will be checking out:
In / Out
Pool at the Setai / Pool at the Shore Club
The Standard / The Shore Club
Juice and Java / News Café
Alchemist (Review to come!) / Intermix
Arrive / Scoop for Men
The New Mynt / The Old Mynt
Mokai / Mansion
Social at Sagamore / Sushi Samba
Yoga Shala / David Barton Gym
Woody Allen in board shorts andbucket hat / Jessica Alba in a bikini
2 comments:
i concur
I was in Miami a few years ago for the holidays and it was already a cheesy scene. I vowed never to return that time of the year. What a mess it was. It was like "Girls Gone Wild" everyday! Does it ever chill or do you have to go all the way to Bal Harbour to get some peace and quiet.
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