Peachhead™ Approved Vacations: Fontainebleau Miami Beach November 2009

I had heard about the major renovations at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach (1 billion dollars to be exact) so I contacted a friend who works there and she worked out a great deal for me. My family and I arrived Saturday evening... just in time to see the wild scene at the bar. The clothes these women were wearing were incredible and their heels... .how do they stand in them, let alone walk in them. It was definitely a great place to people watch. The hotel has two buildings that are originals and they added 2 new towers. We were in the Tresor Tower. It was recently built and is amazing. The rooms are large and very modern and ready for this???... an imac computer in every room. How cool is that? We were lucky enough to get a suite with a full kitchen and washer and dryer (great way to save money on food). 

The $12.95 resort fee covers unlimited use of the internet on the mac, complimentary access to their 5000 square foot gym, lounge chairs on the beach, and daily newspaper. 

My first morning I got up early (surprising with the time difference) and worked out in their 5,800 square foot gym. The cardio machines all have TVs attached to them and you can even plug in your ipod and watch your shows on the larger monitor. After my workout I explored the property. The hotel is incredibly modern and the art work is so different in every area of the hotel. You can tell the interior designer had a lot of fun working on this project as the furniture, light fixtures, and art work make this hotel stand out amongst the others. 

Once the family was awake we went for lunch at Vida, their deli on the property. They have a great kids' menu and the kids enjoyed their grilled chicken, and it was only $8.00. My lunch was good as well, and I loved their potato pancakes and my husband loved his matzah ball soup. We then headed out to the pool, or should I say pools... .there are 7 pools (I think; hard to count as they were all over the property). The kids' pool has a water fountain and a slide. I liked hanging out on the beach on the thick cushioned chairs (very important to me). 

I ended my day by stopping at the spa to relax. It is 40,000 square feet of pure calmness and relaxation. They have warm beds to lie on, a rain shower room, a few lounges to sit and relax and they even had out fresh fruit to enjoy. It was very calming.

We headed out to Las Olivas in Ft. Lauderdale for dinner and found a restaurant we had eaten at once before called Noodles Panini. It was just as good this time around. They are known for their meatballs and even though I am not a meatball lover, I couldn't stop eating one after a little bite... they were surprisingly very soft and fluffy (if a meatball can be soft and fluffy). We shopped around a bit (they actually had some good sales going on) and then went to a restaurant called Café del Rey to see Alex Fox play guitar. We discovered him a few years ago and look him up every time we are in Florida. His guitar playing is mesmerizing. You can check him out at www.alexfox.com. 

We spent the next couple of days hanging out at the beach and the pool. The girls loved jumping from one pool to the next. We had dinner at Gotham Steak in the Fontainebleau. Very nice atmosphere... they even have live soothing music. The other nights we ventured out to our favorite restaurants in LA. We went to Mr. Chows which just opened a few months ago. The restaurant is in the new W Hotel and it is stunning. Very elegant and classy. We also went to Benihana's (the kids' favorite). 

We had one day of cold and rain which was the perfect day to take the kids to Wannadocity. This is my kids' favorite place to go. It is an imaginary play area where the kids can work in a hospital, fire station, bakery, candy shop, vet, circus, and more and actually play the part. If they work they get paid. If they are buying something they pay with the wannado bucks they have earned. I wish they would open one in Los Angeles. If your kids are 8 or older you can leave them at Wannadocity and go shopping at Sawgrass Mills which is right next door. They have outlet stores as well as regular stores... and it is huge. We all had the perfect day:)

- Linda Perry 
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