I go to Miami usually once a year and in my 20s I used to stay in South Beach but as I’ve gotten older I like a calmer trip, slower mornings, dinner reservations made in advance and my favorite time to visit is October through May, after that its too hot for this California girl.
This trip was actually two trips stitched together, I had a work conference in Palm Beach and then a Summer Fridays pop-up in Miami a few days later, with one free day in between.
Where I stayed
The Four Seasons Surfside is my favorite for the last few years, I’ve stayed for my birthday and for Miami F1 race but 1Hotel in South Beach is still a favorite if you want to be in south beach and some of our team stayed at The Shelborne by Proper, which was easy because that’s where our pop-up was.
How I do a day there
Miami is hot in May so the trick is to front-load the day before its too hot to do anything. I wake up, have breakfast and try to be outside between 9 and 11 before the sun is just too much for me. The middle of the day is for lunch and walking around with the air conditioning of stores between stops. Afternoon I do work from my room or the lobby and relax before dinner.
For grab-and-go my favorite has always been Pura Vida and they finally opened in LA. You can’t really order wrong there a matcha, a smoothie, something to take back to the room. I’ll often pick up a few things and stash them in the minibar so I have snacks later.
Restaurants + shopping
Mandolin Aegean Bistro in the Design District
I like to sit outside, even when it’s warm they have fans going and the vibe is always great. We like to order a lot of things to share and fter lunch I walk the Design District there’s a great Sephora and one of my favorites is Cult Gaia.
Hillstone at Bal Harbour. The coconut shrimp roll is the best and after lunch, walk the shops at Bal Harbour. I picked up a new pair of Saint Laurent sunglasses on this trip that I’ve worn every day since.
Casa Tua and The Surf Club are two of my must stop places for dinner when I am in town. The bread at Surf Club is SOOOOO good.
We also hosted an influencer cocktail event at Casadonna one night and the food was beautiful, the patio was perfect and I got to meet a lot of people for the first time and catch up with friends I hadn’t seen in too long. Would def make plans here for dinner by the water!
The pop-up weekend
When we were planning the launch of ShadeDrops SPF 50 and Bronzer Butter Balm, we were like what about a Summer Fridays Beach Club?! We’d done a version on Bondi Beach in Sydney back in January 2025 and it felt so much like us sunshine, beach and the brand existing in its natural habitat and we wanted to do that again to kick off summer.
We built it on the beach at The Shelborne and when I walked up the first morning I genuinely couldn’t believe we made this it looked like an actual beach club. A lot of people who came told us they’re local to Miami but never get to go to South Beach beach clubs because you have to be a hotel guest. So this was their first time and that meant a lot.
Sunday a thunderstorm came through and our team handled it like pros on the fly and reopened in the afternoon for a few more hours and tried to accomodate everyone who was there earlier in the morning during the storm.
To everyone who showed up that weekend, thank you!! And to our team … the build, the energy, managing the weather pivot … you guys did such an amazing job!!
A few things I actually used all weekend
An electric fan by the pool
A packable visor I got off Amazon — folds easily for packing
My lip stain and sunglasses, which travel with me everywhere
and that’s it from Miami! If you make it to any of these spots, tell me what you ordered and if you have a swimsuit brands you love right now, I’m taking recommendations I’ve had a really hard time this year.
more Summer posts coming soon!!
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