Miami Beach

I don’t know what I expected from Miami. I wasn’t even sure I’d like it, but it was a convenient stop over for our itinerary so we planned two nights there.

I thought it would be tacky, like a Gold Coast on steroids, and there was certainly some of that around, but also it was kinda nice. Miami Beach was clean, although it has nothing on a good Australian beach. The surrounding streets were clean, the beautifully restored art deco buildings were amazing and there was a generally good vibe to the place.

The hotel we stayed in, Esmé Miami Beach, was very chic and artfully designed. I loved the soft pink, gold and tourquoise colour palette in our bathroom. The hotel had a number of onsite restaurants to eat at and a great cocktail bar. But best of all was the rooftop pool. We spent a whole day lying on the sun lounges by the pool, dipping into the water every half hour or so to cool off from the hot summer sun beating down from above.

But even if none of that was any good, the trip to Miami would have been worth it just for one meal we ate. We had dinner our last night at Intimo and it was up there with the best meals of my life. The Japanese-Peruvian fusion was unexpected but exquisite. The torched wagyu sashimi was so impossibly tender that upon hitting my tongue, the beef simply melted. The cocktails were also very good and the service exceptional.

Would I go back to Miami? I’m not sure, but it would be worth it to eat at Intimo again.