Background:
Miami’s Coconut Grove is a trendy zone of bars, high-style shops, and people-watching at sidewalk restaurants; and if you want to visit with kids along, a good spot is the family-friendly Sonesta Hotel and Suites Coconut Grove.
Location -- at 2889 McFarlane Road-- is excellent: a two-minute walk brings you to sidewalk restaurants where, in daytime hours, kids can laugh at the doggie guests permitted to share these outdoor dining spaces with their humans. Even at night, kids can happily be squeezed in with the rest of the crowd. Over at the Cocowalk shopping court, street entertainers might be found.
In the Coconut Grove area, kids will like:
- the people-rickshaws: watch the runners fly high off the street (the rickshaw equivalent of doing a wheelie on a bike)
- ice cream at Bacia, with flavors as good as those in Italy (and that's saying a lot)
- retro soda fountain restaurant on the corner of Grand Avenue and McFarlane Road
- -coupon book! And not your mother’s coupon book; this one has savings at cool shops and eateries*
- large outdoor pool (on the 8th floor, with view of Biscayne Bay)
- free shuttles to and from Seaquarium and other attractions
- Peacock Park is just across the street, a big stretch of greenspace where kids can run around, plus a short boardwalk with views of the nearby harbor and marina
- helpful staff; and concierge desk has info on all Miami’s family attractions
- suites have full kitchens
Find out more about:
- See the Sonesta Hotel & Suites Coconut Grove site
- check visitors' comments at TripAdvisor.com (-just enter "Sonesta Coconut Grove" in the searchbox)
*photo © Teresa Plowright
As is common in the travel industry, the writer was provided with complimentary accommodation for the purpose of review. While it has not influenced this review, About.com believes in full disclosure of all potential conflicts of interest. For more information, see our ethics policy.
*Always check web sites for updates. This review dates from August 2006.
