This time last week I was soaking up the sun in the sunshine state itself, yep you guessed right Miami! Well now I'm back in the UK and rather than hide myself under my bedsheets wishing I was back in Miami I thought I would re-live the experience by sharing it with you.

Accommodation


With Downtown Miami or South Beach as the main choice of stay for those visiting the party city (both locations are super close to everything) I have to say I did the complete opposite and spent my 5 nights in Coconut Grove in the Mayfair - look I love coconuts so it was a natural choice (yep totes base my accommodation choices on my fab fruit choices, after all who doesn't?!)

The Mayfair had a exclusive Antoni Gaudi-inspired facade and with a number of friendly and helpful staff on tow there was nothing to dislike about this place - oh yeah did I mention there was a 24 hour gym (I actually used it every day), and a rooftop pool and bar that has views to die for!

Located right in the middle of Coconut Grove, the hotel was surrounded by a mini shopping area which reminded me a lot of The Grove in LA. There were a few cute shops and restaurants not to mention a Victoria Secret - handy!

Parking wise there was a parking garage right opposite the hotel - defo recommended this place as it's secure and cheap, well as cheap as parking in Miami goes.

What to see & do. 
To be honest you can pretty much see Miami in 5 days, and that is including partying and making time for festivals (Ultra more so). I wouldn't actually go to Miami for any other reasons apart from if I want to party as unlike California or even New York once you have seen it, you HAVE seen it!

As with Los Angeles I ended up hiring a car, which in the long run worked out well due to where I was staying and because it allowed me to venture out into Florida where the beaches are to die for! However the only downside with having a car is parking issues - unlike LA parking is difficult to find and quite pricey - I recommend avoiding metered parking and looking for parking garages. If you are going to be staying in Downtown Miami or South Beach with the aim of partying then you won't need a car.

South Beach



This is where the main beaches and clubs are located and if you go, as we did, during music week & spring break, the place is bound to be heaving, which actually adds to the flavour of the area. Shop wise this is where you find a number of clothing shops, including DASH, (yep I have now officially been to all the DASH stores in America in a space of 6 months...fan much!?) and don't forget the famed Versace mansion - which I have to say isn't as big as I imagined and is actually quite easy to miss.
Club wise this is where the main ones are including Story (which I went on my last night in Miami) and Delano and SLS - all great for pool parties, which are as cool as expected.

Also in South Beach there are places that offer day cruises to the Bahamas. Although I never did this - believe I wanted to but we found out about it too late so couldn't fit it in our Ultra schedule. The day cruise was around $169, which personally I don't think is bad for 8 hours in the Bahamas. I would recommend researching such trips especially if you are going to Miami for a long period as it will give you something else to do.

Downtown Miami


By day this acts as the financial district and by night, especially for three days during March, it acts as the base for Ultra. Yep Ultra, one of the biggest music festivals in the world, which I was lucky enough to attend. I highly recommend you go to the festival at least once in your lifetime as boy is it something else. With the biggest dj's from around the world and an amazing crowd the vibe was something you cannot experience here in the UK. I'm not going to go into details of it as I could go on for days - if you follow me on Snapchat or Twitter you would have experienced how epic it was!



Miracle mile
Another place I recommend you venture to is Miracle Mile, if not for the shops then to eat at California Pizza Kitchen. Myself & my friend stumbled across this place by accident on the first day in Miami and we ended up eating there every day, I kid not. The pizza choices where great, especially if like me you are veggie and gluten free, and the location was next to parking so easy to get to. It was the perfect pit stop before heading on to Ultra.

Beaches


If you want to see a real beach then you must venture into Hollywood. I would actually only go Hollywood to see the beach as the rest of it does not reflect it's counterpart in California. It is actually quite rundown and has a seaside vibe to it....the beaches are nice though!

Overall Miami was a cool place to go but as I mentioned earlier I would only go for Miami music week or to celebrate my birthday and party. If La and New York had a child it would be Miami.

Have you been Miami? Leave your comments below.