We have been staying at the Richmond Hotel for the past couple of annual Miami Weekends, but this year we decided we wanted to be a bit further away from party center of South Beach.

This year we stayed at the Indian Creek Hotel on the corner of Indian Creek Drive and 28th street. Some of the reviews on Expedia or Travelocity may cause you to steer away from this hotel, but we think this is one of the hidden travel bargains of South Beach.  We have a feeling it won't be a secret for long!

The hotel has been renovated recently by its new owners, but it still retains much of the details and charm of its earlier, first-hotel-in-Miami-with-an-electric-elevator years.  The rooms themselves are on the small-ish side, made more so by the king-size bed, which was too big for the room.  The furnishings in the room are in keeping with the overall flavor of the hotel.  The service is friendly and efficient. 

Indian Creek is a small hotel, but it has a wonderful lobby, courtyard, and pool.  The courtyard and pool area is surrounded by tall palm trees, creating an intimate, elegant setting and blocking out the traffic noise.

The Indian Creek Hotel has its own restaurant, Creek 28, which serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner either in the courtyard or in their cozy little dining room. Eating breakfast in the courtyard was a great way to start our day, even when the day's activity consisted solely of moving from breakfast table to the lounge chairs next to the pool.

Mr. Yellow is a neighborhood cat that has adopted the courtyard as his home.  He spends the day sleeping on the warm brick patio and patiently waiting for treats from the various tables. Mr. Yellow is a very happy and very well fed cat. He is also very polite, and will befriend you for the length of your stay if you give him bits of bacon from your first breakfast.

All manner of creatures have discovered that the Indian Creek Hotel is a great place to hang out.  We had a wonderful stay and we would definitely go back again.  The hotel does offer free WiFi... so bring your laptop when you go and tell them you found out about it on RainyDayMagazine!

We've been going to South Beach for the past six years.   The tradition started when we all decided to celebrate one of RDM's senior writer's birthday there.  Some of us loved it so much that we just kept going back.

The weather this year was PERFECT.  It was 75º when we landed and stayed that way the entire weekend.

Reviews:

1. The Hotel

2. The Food

3. The Activities

Past Reviews:

1. South Beach 2005

1. Carolyn's World - Haircut

1. Carolyn's World - Eats

1. Carolyn's World - Richmond

2. Carolyn's World - Miami