Making the decision about whether or not to travel during a pandemic is not an easy one.
On the one hand, it feels irresponsible to put yourself and others at potential risk by being on an airplane or staying in a hotel.
On the other, hotels, airlines, restaurants and everyone who benefits from the tourism industry are suffering and they are making every precaution to welcome us back and encourage guests to visit.
Not to mention, never have we needed a break from the routine of daily lives like we do now.
It was with those considerations that my husband and I decided to celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary with a quick long weekend trip to The Surf Club, a Four Seasons hotel in Miami, Florida.
Having sat empty for sometime, the property underwent an extensive renovation in 2017 and the reviews have been consistently over-the-top with praise. The original hotel opened in 1930 and was the “ultimate place to be seen” including the likes of The Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Frank Sinatra and The Rat Pack, Elizabeth Taylor and even Winston Churchill as guests. There are stories of alcohol during prohibition and glamorous parties featuring elephants and 300 tables made entirely of ice. It was fun to walk around the hotel and imagine what it must have been like in the 1930s and 40s.
The architects and designers did an amazing job of preserving the old and adding very modern touches and amenities during the renovation, particularly in the guest rooms.
The room had a lot of great features that you don’t often see in many hotels — spacious bathrooms, shades that automatically open when you walk through the door, a perfect nightlight by the bed for reading, and a great table/chaise arrangement for coffee, breakfast and room service.
Note: I was really looking forward to trying one of the restaurants in the hotel called Le Sirenuse, a collaboration with the famous hotel in Positano and the only one of its kind in the US, but apparently post COVID they are no longer operating and it will be something different. I am not sure what happened but hopefully they will leave the decor and replace it with something equally fabulous. I hate that I didn’t get the chance to experience it but certainly look forward to a future trip.
By the way, don’t miss having dinner at the original Casa Tua, one of my all time favorite restaurants.
