Miami-Curacao-Crystal shores

Well we arrived in Miami on the first stop of this trip. I have to say that it's worth being a Plat at the JW Miami. This place is really nice and the suite we were upgraded to is reserved for Plats according to the desk folks. It's very large and separated into two rooms with two bathrooms. A lot of chrome and glass bling that's not exactly my style but very impressive.

Going out to explore on an open air hop on hop off bus. Looking forward to seeing Little Havana. Not to much Cuban culture where I'm from so that will be new. If you come here I highly recommend the shuttle service listed on the web page. I called them when we landed and they were there with a private car within about 5 minutes. $35 for two with tip.

WIFI is great with good speed and no passwords or daily reminders to sign on again.

Next stop Curacao.

Be sure to share your impressions of Curacao. We have a week lined up at the Marriott next May. Just working on trying to get Cancun for the week after.

Well, Tuggers have said this the nicest Marriott in the Caribbean and so far I have agree. I've been to Cancun, St Thomas and Aruba and this one is best. The sand isn't pure white but it's close and it's very fine. It doesn't get hot even in midday. There are many Palapas on the beach and this morning I snagged one at about 0830. By 0900 they were gone. Still it beats Aruba.

There's a nice bar on the beach and the drinks are reasonable. They do include a 15% gratuity though. I didn't realize that till today. They give you two towel cards at checkin good for two beach towels each. No tickee no shirtee. You can replenish as many times as needed.

The big surprise was the food. If anyone bothers to look up old threads you'll find that I'm not fond of the cuisine at Marriott hotels and resorts. I think it's some of the worst gruel served on the planet. This place is different. So far we had dinner at the main restaurant and lunch at the pool bar. Both were excellent and reasonably priced.

I'll make this quick because we're going out but they evidently haven't heard of "Island time" down here. The service is prompt and courteous. A nice change from St Thomas. I really didn't just say something bad about St Thomas, did I?

More to follow, any questions fire away.

Thank you for sharing. I guess the weather is pretty good.