By Bernard Burt
Miami is a rare tropical flower – a hybrid of culture, shopping, sports, dining, and clubbing, legendary hotels with sandy white beaches, ocean breezes, and sunshine. Whether for business or pleasure, Miami is the metropolis of the Americas.
Changing dynamics downtown, Miami’s new performing arts center designed by acclaimed architect Caesar Pelli will house opera and ballet. Nearby, performing parrots and an Everglades habitat replicate native Florida at Parrot Jungle Island. With the American Airlines sports arena, cruise ship port, Bayside boutiques and restaurants, Miami caters to every taste.
Beyond the beaches, people flock to the high-end Bal Harbour, Turnberry Isle Resort & Spa, Little Havana’s Calle Ocho (8th Street), and the new Village at Merrick Park in Coral Gables. Hipsters and lovers of Art Deco architecture head for South Beach’s Ritz-Carlton and Loews hotels, featuring state-of-the-art spas as well as retro decor. Vibrantly mixing past and present, Miami is the best antidote to winter blahs.
BEST BEACH RESORT SPA
Escape to an island haven on Key Biscayne. Set between Crandon Park, home of the NASDAQ-100 tennis tournament (March 24 – April 4), and Bill Baggs State Park’s historic lighthouse, the Sonesta Beach Key Biscayne Resort is minutes from downtown but feels like the Caribbean. Resembling a Mayan pyramid, the eight-story hotel overlooks miles of beach. Enjoy the fitness center and tennis courts, or join spa director Nancy Soccorso as she leads morning jogs to the end of the beach. Join certified aquatic instructor Kimberlie Cerda for yoga stretches and tai chi movements nurtured by water. Tennis buffs can play like a pro at nearby Tennis Center of Crandon Park, while golfers have palm-fringed views of Miami on the park’s top-ranked public course. The spa and salon at Sonesta provide European-style kurs as well as hair and nail services. Forget tanning; get a golden glow with Kerstin Florian’s amarillo signature oil massage or aromatherapy facial. Offering an extensive menu of baths and bodywork, the Sonesta spa is a cool oasis, secluded yet close to city lights. Contact (305) 361-2021 or visit www.sonestakeybiscayne.com
BEST DAY SPA
Enter an exotic realm of beauty at the Village of Merrick Park. Tucked between Nordstrom and Cafe Mundo, Elemis Spa, Miami resonates colorful Asian style. Choose a “Retreat” to match your mood: The Ruby Heaven Retreat, layered in Indian sari silks that flow from the ceiling; Rustic Retreat stylized in earth tones and terracotta walls; Lavender Retreat uplifts spirits with lighter colors complementing an Elemis Japanese Silk Booster facial. Each of the ten retreat suites has intricately woven wall tapestries, lanterns from Turkey, and a private shower. Welcomed with a ritual cleansing of the feet, therapists tailor treatments and blend customized aromatherapy oils. Try a sensory float bed that cocoons you in weightless warmth and wave-like motion. Finishing touches, head to toe, are in the salon. Like sister spas in London, Las Vegas, Connecticut, and aboard cruise ships, Elemis products are featured. Only here, kids play while you’re pampered. It’s the perfect mirror of Miami, a unique melting pot of diverse cultures. Contact (866) 353-6477 or visit www.elemis.com
BEST NATURE TRAILS
Cross the causeway from Miami to Key Biscayne and you suddenly enter a tropical island paradise. Just four miles long and a mile wide, this barrier island has several trails where you can learn about the area’s ecosystem. Start at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center in Crandon Park; the visitor center offers a look at coral reefs teeming with tropical fish. Take a self-guided tour: a history trail leads through sandy hammocks shaded by seagrape trees where Tequesta Indians dwelled in 1000 A.D.; the Osprey Trail provides a look at raptor nesting places. Join naturalists for guided tours every Saturday and Sunday. Contact (305) 361-6767 or visit www.biscaynenaturecenter.org.
BEST YOGA CENTER
Need some balance? Visit Synergy Center for Yoga and the Healing Arts where you can take part in one of their seventy classes offered per week including Ashtanga, Iyengar, Jivamukti, Prenatal, and even a beach yoga class. At the healing center schedule a yoga therapy session, astrological consultation, or a reiki treatment. Synergy also offers teacher training programs certified by the Yoga Alliance as well as retreats throughout the year. Beach Yoga classes are on a $5 donation basis; other classes are offered at $14 a class. Contact (305) 538-7073 or visit www.synergyyoga.org
BEST HEALTHY CUISINE
Chef Norman Van Aken, inventor of New World Cuisine, brings his new take on healthy dining to Cafe Mundo at the Village of Merrick Park. Select little plates of organic vegetables, mezzes, and tapas. Doing the fusion food thing in this lush tropical setting can include a house salad with Maytag blue cheese and Florida oranges, tuna teriyaki with Vietnamese spring rolls, crab and rock shrimp cakes, or sea bass with a conch-bonita cake. Contact (305) 442-6787 or visit www.mundorestaurant.com
BEST NATURAL BEAUTY PRODUCTS
Shop and enjoy skincare at Brownes, a two-level emporium of beauty for men and women on Lincoln Road. Displayed on the ground floor, walls of Elemis, Kiehl’s, and Aveda products provide solutions for your home regimen. Ascend a winding staircase to Brownes Beauty Lounge for the latest treatments. Try a hot stone massage, margarita manicure and pedicure, scalp massage, or Japanese silk facial. There’s even an old-fashioned barber’s chair where men can get facials, shaves, and trims in privacy. For total pampering, reserve a private suite, complete with shower, mini-bar, and lunch service. Contact (305) 538-7544 or visit www.brownesbeauty.com
BEST PEOPLE-WATCHING
Stroll car-free Lincoln Road to see new Miami at its best: funky galleries, hot fashion, al fresco cafes, a concert hall, and an authentic gelateria. The pedestrian-only, beach-to-bay street is lined with shops and restaurants, busy morning to midnight. During its fashionable heyday in the 1950s, Lincoln Road catered to high-end shoppers. Today, families mix with hipsters, members of the New World Symphony and Miami City Ballet. Close to the Convention Center, Theater for the Performing Arts, and South Beach, it’s six blocks from The Wolfsonian, a museum where Miami Beach’s Art Deco District comes alive. Contact (305) 531-1001 or visit www.herald.com
BEST BATHHOUSE
Discover authentic Russian and Turkish baths on Miami Beach. Slathered in soap, scrubbed with Dead Sea salts, you prep for a traditional “shvitz” sweat in the Russian rock banya, steamy Turkish hammam, or dry Finnish sauna. Seawater pumped into the whirlpool and blitz shower adds a unique Miami touch; this is the only place south of New York offering ocean water treatments. Slip into bubbling, hot saltwater or shower in a waterfall pumped from a sulferous well seventy-five feet below the beach. In addition to coed facilities, sixteen treatment rooms, and a restaurant offer Russian specialties. Try a “Platza” circulation enhancer with oak leaf branches or black mud wrap. Located in the Castle Beach Club hotel, your daily admission ($22) includes use of the gym and outdoor swimming pool access. Open every day, it’s where Old Europe meets New Age. Contact (305) 867-8313
BEST ZEN SUITES
Secluded on the waterfront enclave of Brickell Key, with panoramic views of Biscayne Bay, the fan-shaped Mandarin Oriental, Miami takes the art of Zen meditation to new levels. Think bamboo flooring, candles in a black-rock pool, orchids, and raku pottery in relaxation lounges. The ultimate experience is a two-hour ritual in a private suite overlooking the bay. Asian traditions mix with well-being in rituals designed by E’Spa, the British firm that supplies skincare products for Mandarin Oriental hotels in several parts of the world. Elegantly minimalist, each of the private suites has a sunken hydrotherapy tub, massage table, and shower. Welcomed with a foot washing, your therapist suggests services for holistic benefits to mind, body, and spirit. New this winter: a sandy beach alongside the infinity-edge swimming pool with tented suites for alfresco massage. All within minutes of downtown Miami. Contact (866) 888-6780 or visit www.mandarinoriental.com
BEST BEACH SCENE
The glitz and glam of South Florida often attract celebrities eager to attach their money – and name – to a new restaurant. Unfortunately, few of them survive to become landmark eateries. There are, however, a few in South Beach, a.k.a. the Art Deco District. Miami’s queen of Latin music, Gloria Estefan, and producer-husband Emilio, own SoBe Bongos, a moderately-priced restaurant serving Cuban cuisine for lunch and dinner. Also owned by the Estefans, Cafe Cardozo is tucked inside the landmark Cardozo Hotel. Celeb sightings aren’t on the menu, but the Estefans occasionally dine here. The combination of oceanfront setting, lively street scene, and spicy food, keeps this beach scene jumping night and day. Contact SoBe Bongos (305) 532-9577; Cafe Cardozo (305) 695-2822
BEST GYM
Workouts include celebrity sightings at the David Barton Gym. Miami Beach’s branch of Manhattan fitness guru David Barton’s “Naked Network” is located in the ultra-hip Delano Hotel. Daily membership costs $25, includes a range of scheduled classes, from Aqua Aerobics to yoga and kick-boxing. Featuring a full line of LifeFitness and Hammerstrength equipment, the pool-side gym complements the hotel’s rooftop Agua Spa. Don’t miss oceanside yoga before bed. Contact (305) 674-5757 or visit www.davidbartongym or www.ianschragerhotels.com for more information on the Delano.
BEST BOTANICAL GARDEN
Coconut Grove, a lush and plush tropical neighborhood, clings to bohemian lifestyles. Stroll the eight-acre Kampong, a residential compound built in 1916 by botanist David Fairchild, now the public National Tropical Botanical Garden. Poinciana bushes arch over the driveway, exotic plants grow throughout the Oriental-themed house. This is the best of old Miami. Open for tours and by appointment; Admission $10. Contact (305) 442-7169 or visit www.ntbg.org
March/April 2004
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