Review: Z Ocean Hotel, South Beach

Last week, I enjoyed a young professional version of spring break on South Beach in Miami, Florida. My travel companion and I stayed at the Z Ocean Hotel (Crowne Plaza South Beach), located on the main strip of Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue. After extensive travel site reviews, comparisons, and map plotting of South Beach’s various top hotels, we selected Z Ocean Hotel as it offered the best amenities and characteristics for all of our points of interest: location, room design, location, pool, price (including evaluation of additional fees such as valet parking and resort fees), beachside services, luxurious feel, and overall ratings.

Our stay met all of our expectations and was very enjoyable. Here are some noteworthy aspects, written and photographed, about the Z Ocean experience: Continue reading “Review: Z Ocean Hotel, South Beach”

Calling All Snowbirds: Tips for Planning a Florida Vacation

Before I came a fully-fledged Washingtonian, I was a Floridian. So for all you snowbirds (which I am now, though the Florida license plate of my parents’ cars would never betray that in peak-season traffic), I’ve got a few tips for a Florida vacation. Given that my travel companion for my upcoming tropical trip can’t leave the country (visa renewals are an unfortunate process), we decided on Florida, and I’ve been doing a bit of thinking and research with the lens of a visitor and the expertise of a resident.

Here are some ideas for planning a trip to sunny Florida: Continue reading “Calling All Snowbirds: Tips for Planning a Florida Vacation”