When I was booking my trip, I took everything into consideration, the dates of the course I was attending (there were multiple dates available), the weather in all the cities I would visit, the price of the flight tickets etc. But I also specifically planned everything in a way to make sure I would be there for my birthday, and I also knew that if I planned my birthday celebration at the end of my trip; there would be a higher chance that my mom would fly in to celebrate with me. And she did! In addition, a very good friend of my mom who lives in the US, and who she hadn’t seen for 25 years joined us as well!
My birthday Celebration started with a Champagne brunch on the balcony overlooking the beautiful beach. Our room was on the second highest floor of the hotel so the view was just mesmerising! There was no time to go to the pool or beach today, and we were just relaxing on the balcony for a couple of hours while making ourselves ready for the lunch.
When I booked the trip, I had already decided that my birthday would be celebrated at the Versace Mansion! I made a reservation for lunch a long time in advance to ascertain that we would get a table. It was on a Saturday, and I imagined the restaurant to be packed, and it sure was! Last time we were in Miami, we took pictures of the villa from the outside only, but we did not inside. I guess we were afraid that it would be very expensive. This time, however, both my mom and I specifically wanted to come here because we had just finished watching “The Assassination of Gianni Versace”, and we wanted to step inside this beautiful villa and see it for ourselves. The villa, which is located on Ocean Drive, was even more beautiful than it was portrayed on the show! It is definitely one of a kind. It was like nothing I had seen before. I wish I could have been able to describe how beautiful every little detail in this villa was! Every wall was beautifully painted and decorated. It is a place that really has to be experienced. We initially asked for a table outside, however, we were told that the outside seating during lunch is only for hotel guests. In the end, we were very happy with our table inside. The room in which we were seated was very beautiful. Besides, we went outside to take some pictures and then we realised how extremely hot it would have been to sit outside!
You may wonder why we decided to have lunch here instead of dinner. There are many reasons for that. First, it was much cheaper. A three course meal costed us 30 dollars per person! For dinner, however, you would have to pay the same price price just for the main course. The portions are probably bigger for dinner, but you probably already know my opinion about American sized portions anyway. Second, we wanted to see the villa during daytime, especially the outside area where the pool is located. Third, we wanted to walk around Ocean Drive after lunch, take a walk on the beach and have some drinks here and there before returning to the hotel. Therefore, the lunch option was just perfect. In fact, I think it was one of the cheapest meals we had in Miami! Especially for what we got. I had an octopus carpaccio as a starter, lobster spaghetti (which I had to pay a little extra for, but it still did not become too expensive), and I had a sorbet for dessert. In addition, I got a very beautiful (and extremely tasty!) cake for my birthday with the Versace logo on it.
We had an overall amazing experience. I can also add that I have read some of the reviews on TripAdvisor of this restaurant, and I was really surprised about the large amount of negative comments! The service was really good, the restaurant was extremely beautiful with a history, the food was good, the lunch was reasonably priced… what more can you wish for? Yes there is an 18 % service charge added to the bill, but so is there everywhere else in Miami Beach!
After the Versace Villa, we went for a long walk on Ocean Drive. Our plan was to try some different bars on Ocean Drive for drinks. Well, that did not happen. I thought I would like Ocean Drive better this time than I did last time I was here, but I once again realised that this is simply not a place for me. And definitely not for my mom and her friend! Ocean drive is just too wild and crazy. Don’t get me wrong, I love partying, but maybe not that type of partying. To me it is way too tacky. We tried walking into several bars, but none of the bars/restaurants we entered did even sell wine, only those gigantic cocktails! And I must admit that walking through Ocean Drive was pretty overwhelming.
We walked through the street until we got to a more quieter part of Ocean Drive, and finally sat down for a drink in a nicer looking restaurant. The name of the place was Salt Kitchen and Lounge. We stayed here for 3 glasses of prosecco each (including one round that was on the house!) and we really enjoyed our time here. The waiters gave us some good advice about where to go next, and we ended up taking an uber from here to a rooftop bar called Juvia.
What can I say about Juvia? Wow, another beautiful place and it has great views of South Beach. If you love rooftop bars as much as I do, then this is the place to go! Everyone was dressed really nicely, the DJ playing was great, and this was the complete opposite of the tacky Ocean Drive, but pricewise it was the same (if not cheaper!). We stayed for a drink or two, and I had another birthday dessert here. After a while, we decided to head back home. It was already midnight when we returned to our hotel, so it had been a very long day, but also an amazing birthday celebration!
Anyah Mroz 