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Cheers from Miami! Last week we left off in New Orleans and this week, we're just a few hundred miles away in South Florida. After an impromptu mini family reunion, I checked into two plush hotels in Miami: The Mandarin Oriental and the JW Marriott. If you want to see what these properties are like, then come along for the ride in The Sunshine State. Plus, this week I'm sharing information on the top travel-related things that have made life easier for road warriors in the past 20 years. If that doesn't interest you, then perhaps Kelly Gray's trip to Wyoming will. And just in case you're playing hardball or you're an armchair traveler, check out David Zuchowski's book review of Signspotting 2.
JET CAPTAIN
Before we get started I should mention that after a long hiatus we're bringing back the Jet Captain! Each week, a commercial airline pilot for one of the major carriers will answer a reader question. So if you've ever wondered why ... please send your question to JetCaptain@JohnnyJet.com.
SPECIAL FEATURE: TRAVEL & TECHNOLOGY
I was recently asked by a popular women's magazine about the top travel-related things that have made life easier for road warriors in the past 20 years. When I found out that my information got cut from the story, I thought I might as well make good use of my hard work. So here are my thoughts on the subject ... click here.
DELRAY BEACH
I often go to Florida to visit my sister and her family in Delray Beach. In fact, this trip was my sixth since January but it was the most special since my whole family was in town. I won't bore you with the details of our family madness but I will tell you about one of the places that we frequented practically every night after each meal: Gelato On The Grove. It's an eclectic café and coffee bar in Pineapple Grove that serves up possibly the best gelato in Florida. The secret? It's homemade with all-natural ingredients (Small $3.25, Large $5.25). If that's not enough to get you to visit, they offer free WiFi! Gelato On The Grove, 269 NE Second Ave. in Delray Beach, Tel: 561-274-6844.
MANDARIN ORIENTAL MIAMI
I headed to Miami for the night to make it less hectic to catch my flight the next morning to Central America. (I'll tell you about that destination next week.) Without traffic, Miami is an hour away. When I arrived, I checked into the Mandarin Oriental, which is arguably the best hotel in the city. The hotel is located on the secluded and prestigious Brickell Key. The high-rise hotel has 326 luxurious rooms and all come with a large balcony overlooking either Biscayne Bay or the city skyline.
MANDARIN ORIENTAL SERVICE
The incredible service at the Mandarin Oriental Miami begins the moment you pull up when an army of porters attacks the incoming cars. They quickly tag the bags and whisk them up to your room before you can even make it upstairs yourself. Check-in doesn't take long at all. After the agent handed me my room key "Asian-style" (with both hands) he asked that I be discreet when I pulled out my camera. He explained that they have a lot of high profile guests at the hotel and they don't want to jeopardize their privacy. Fair enough. And no, I didn't spot any of them nor did I ask him who exactly was staying at the hotel. You know they wouldn't release any names.
ROOMS
The rooms at the Mandarin Oriental are casual with a minimalist decor, beige walls and a yellow and white color palette, which gives the rooms a sunny, beach feel. The bedding is simple white cotton that is so comfortable, you won't want to get up ... even when it's to catch a flight to a dream getaway. Besides the impeccable service and view, the best part is the opulent marble bathroom with separate glass shower. The worst part is that local calls cost $1 and long distance calls are 75% above cost. At least they're honest about it; there's a sign right on the phone. TIP: Always use your cell phone or better yet, Skype when you're traveling. The TV was surprisingly outdated but it swiveled so you could watch it from bed or the couch. But I'm not so sure how many guests who stay here are eager to watch the boob tube when the hotel has an incredible spa, restaurant(s), outdoor pool and makeshift beach with day beds.
COUPLE'S MASSAGE
The Mandarin Oriental's spa recently made Travel + Leisure's list of the best spas in the USA. The 15,000-square-foot, three-story spa has 17 private treatment rooms and six of them have floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the bay. They offer a whole slew of treatments, inspired by the ancient traditions of Ayurvedic, Balinese, Chinese, European or Thai cultures. My friend Natalie signed us up for a one-hour couple's massage ($360, includes tip), something I'm not usually a fan of because I find that you can't really relax but the therapists here were awesome! Not only were they strong yet gentle, but best of all, they were quiet so I wasn't distracted by Natalie or her therapist right beside me. The amazing treatment ended when the therapists shifted our heated electric massage tables into an upright seated position and opened the curtains for us to see the sparkling Miami skyline. In case you're curious, the separate men's and women's waiting/locker rooms have fresh fruit, iced tea, water, almonds and coffee table books. There are two showers and a steam room and each guest is given a little toiletry kit.
DINING
The Mandarin Oriental has five restaurants/bars. Natalie and I dined at their award-winning Azul restaurant, seated at one of the few patio tables overlooking the bay. For starters we enjoyed an amuse-bouche of oysters. Next, we had a golf ball-sized portion of lobster salad in a coconut shell ($23) and braised beef short ribs with black truffle ravioli ($43). As expected, the service was outstanding. The choco-trio dessert ($15) was divine. Without a doubt, Miami's Mandarin Oriental is as close to staying at a five-star Asian hotel without making the long flight. The only difference is the price; luxury hotels in Asia are so much cheaper. Mandarin Oriental, 500 Brickell Key Drive, Miami, Tel.: 305-913-8288.
FLL – LAX – MIA FIASCO
Since I'm writing about Miami this week, I might as well throw in the story of my unexpected stay at the JW Marriott. On the way back from Central America, I missed my connection to LAX. Since it was American Airlines' fault (mechanical problems), they did the right thing and put me up in a hotel. When I made it to the service desk, the agent gave me a choice to stay at either the Days Inn or the JW Marriott. Tough decision, huh?
SUPER SHUTTLE
The agent told me that they give taxi and meal vouchers so everything will be taken care of. Good deal until you either read the fine print or find out the hard way (my way) that neither is as plush as they first appeared. The taxi voucher turned out to be for Super Shuttle, which we all know is completely different from a taxi. Instead of going from point A to point B privately and departing when I wanted, I was suddenly on the curb waiting for the next available van filled with passengers who swear they will never take it again because of the number of times the van circled the airport, looking for more suckers. It's even worse if you are the last stop and of course, that would be moi. Fortunately, it was late at night so there wasn't any traffic to downtown (it takes about 15 minutes). The shuttle was completely packed and every single person was an American Airlines passenger who had gotten left behind. I quipped to the driver that he must be happy for the full load and he said, "Yeah right! American has a deal with the company because they give us so much business that they only pay $10 a passenger." So, he makes no money. I'm not sure if that's true or if he was just looking for a fat tip.
MIAMI JW MARRIOTT
I arrived at the JW Marriott at 10:30pm and there was a long line (12 people deep) at the check-in desk. It turned out that another Super Shuttle had just dropped off a load of American Airlines passengers just before our shuttle's arrival but the good news is that a line of check-ins that could have easily taken close to an hour to process, the JW staff did in the matter of minutes (I waited just eight minutes, which was remarkable). The room was nice with free WiFi, a computer in the room (first time I've seen this), the Marriott's signature Revive bed and a huge, flat screen HDTV.
DID YOU KNOW? More than 45,000 of Marriott's U.S. hotel rooms have HDTVs. Impressive! The company's goal is to outfit all the rooms with HDTVs by the end of 2009.
VOUCHERS
I was starving and the vouchers American Airlines gave me for breakfast, lunch and dinner weren't all what they were billed to be. At first, I didn't look at them very closely, assuming they were just good for a meal but instead, they had a dollar value on them. They coughed up $10 for dinner, $5 for breakfast and $10 for lunch. How they can claim to cover meals when they're offering vouchers with such a low dollar value is beyond me. And worst of all, the Miami JW is in on the scam. The JW gets so many stranded American Airlines passengers that they even have a separate menu for them. I ordered a Caesar salad ($10.50) and pizza ($12.95), which should total $23.45 but with the service charges, it ended up being $33! If that wasn't bad enough, room service took 45 minutes so by the time I got the food, it was after midnight.
BREAKFAST SCAM
Now for the kicker: I was excited about the JW's breakfast buffet because in every one of their hotels I've visited, it's been awesome. Well, it turns out that the vouchers can't be used in the main dining hall ... only in a small, makeshift, prison-like conference room doubling as a dining room, set up with a motel-style buffet. Think: cold, gnarly scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, concentrated juice, toast, fattening danishes. The room itself was practically hidden, but for a barely visible sign that said 'American Airlines Passengers'. While roaming the halls looking for the room, I bumped into a lawyer from Brussels who was in the same boat as me. When we finally found it, we were the only folks in the quiet, depressing room that wasn't being manned by anyone. Ten minutes later, a guy came in and asked if we'd handed over our vouchers. We said no, as there wasn't anyone to give it to. We handed him the vouchers and he said that breakfast is $15 but our vouchers are only good for $5. So ... we needed to pay the extra $10. What?! For this? While reluctantly reaching into my shallow pocket, I asked how much the REAL breakfast buffet downstairs is. $15.95, he told me. WHAT?! I told him that this entire thing is a total scam; the buffet downstairs is plush. After making friends with him, he totally agreed and said a woman earlier used the exact same word ... scam. I told him that if the JW doesn't want the common folks mingling with the paying customers, then at least offer the same breakfast or charge $5. He completely agreed and didn't charge us the extra $10. JW Marriott, 1109 Brickell Avenue, Miami; tel.: 305-329-3500.
VIDEO
Sorry! No video this week but we do have all the Johnny Jet videos ever made on YouTube.
NEXT WEEK
Next week, we head to the jungles of ... you'll have to join us to find out!
Note:
This trip was sponsored in part by Mandarin Oriental.
Copyright 2008 JohnnyJet, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.