My Honeymoon (Marco Island, FL & Miami, FL)

Posted on Sun 06/19/05 in Travel Reviews

MARCO ISLAND, FL (June 11th – June 15th)
Beth and I left our wedding at 1am and arrived in Marco Island, FL about 2:30am. We took a limo from the temple so we would not have to drive.

Marco Beach Ocean Resort
During our four night stay on the island, we chose the Marco Beach Ocean Resort because honeymooner reviews said it was the best hotel on the island. They were right. The service was A+. Each day, we returned from the pool or beach to find our room reset to its original appearance; and we found our hotel robes (which were extremely comfortable) laid out on our bed when we returned from dinner each night. The rooms were clean and equipped with a stove, refrigerator, toaster, and coffee maker.

I was not exactly prepared for the five-star service we received at every turn, but Beth was sure pleased. She liked the down feather comforters on the bed and Victorian furniture. Our balcony overlooked the pool, which was on the 5th floor, and we could watch the sunset from our patio every night. The hotel has a high-end Italian restaurant downstairs and a Spa on the fourth floor—we did not check out either.

We debated about bringing a car for our trip, but we ended up not. We found that we could either walk to many places that suited us or call Classic Transportation for a $6 ride anywhere on Marco Island. The drivers were extremely polite and prompt, picking us up within five minutes of calling them. This company also provides service to and from airports and ports in Naples, Miami, Fort Myers, and Fort Lauderdale at reasonable rates.

Snook Inn
We visited the Snook Inn twice, per a friend’s recommendation. We really liked the atmosphere: friendly servers, live music, full bar, and located on the water (we even saw a dolphin while we were eating). The food was good and affordable. I’m not exactly sure why their salad bar is self-proclaimed to be “world famous,” but it was good—it starts with a barrel of chopped sour pickles and ends with some tasty, soft bread.

We ate:

• Blackened Grouper Sandwich—good
• Fried Soft-Shelled Blue Crab Sandwich – ok
• Blackened/Broiled scallops w/ rice—excellent
• Ahi Tuna Cesar Salad—pretty good

We’d go back for sure.

Bimini’s
We also ate at Bimini’s in Marco Island. It is a family-style restaurant that had the best crab cakes we’d ever had; they were actually made completely with real crab meat. We sat outdoors and watched nasty weather scoot by us to the north, through Naples. The hostess and our server (Kevin) were very friendly and on-the-ball. I had the pork medallions and some Kendall Jackson. Prices were great, and we left very happy.

Marco Island Water Sports
We were very pleased with Marco Island Water Sports. The staff was very friendly and a pleasure to deal with and the prices were very fair.

We took the 10,000 Island’s Wave runner Excursion tour and were extremely satisfied. The cost was $125 per machine, so Beth and I rode together on one wave runner. Although I drove the whole time, you were allowed to change drivers during the stops. I would have to say that this was the best money spent on our trip. I was anticipating a slow ride through the mangroves on our wave runners and an old-timer tour guide. WOW—was I surprised when I topped out the machine at 46 MPH and caught air over wake as Beth pleaded with me to slow down. We saw several groups of dolphin, 1000lbs osprey nests high in the trees, and some houses from the late 60s that looked like a George Lucas creation. Our twenty-something-year-old tour guide, Mark King, completely made the tour what it was. He was passionate about his job, obviously loved the environment and the island, and was personable and informative. Mark was on summer break from Prescott College in Arizona, where he had just returned from a two-month backpacking class-trip to Alaska.

One of our missions for our honeymoon was to go parasailing, since neither of us had done it before—so we did. I am sad to say that it was less exciting than we had expected. It was a beautiful day outside and visibility was excellent, but the slow release from the boat and the low-altitude ride was not really that thrilling. I believe we were less than 700 feet in the air; I heard about a 1500ft ride which might have been better. We were able to see sea turtles surfacing for air, but the water was murky and nothing else was visible below the surface. I think the pictures will turn out pretty good. This cost about $150 for the both of us.

COCONUT GROVE, MIAMI, FL (June 15th – June 17th)
After a quick stop in Pembroke Pines to pickup our truck, we set out for a short drive to Miami.

Grove Isle Hotel and Spa
We stayed two nights at the place where we originally wanted to have our wedding, the Grove Isle Hotel and Spa, in Coconut Grove, Florida. After staying at the Marco Beach Ocean Resort, this place was a shack.

Objectively, however, I really loved it here. We had a room on the first floor with a full view of the bay. Out back, we had a cozy patio, separated from the neighbors and well-landscaped. In the room, we had a 48” LCD television and a comfortable king-size bed. The wall decorations and dim-adjustable lighting were a real bonus. There was not tub-for-two or dinette area, but there were a refrigerator and two extremely comfortable robes, which were laid out for us when we returned from dinner. The pool area was diverse and classy, containing sturdy, adjustable chairs for lying out and shaded burrow-like chairs for reading and keeping cool. The crowd for June seemed to be local families. There is a spa and marina on the small island that hosts the hotel, but we tried neither on this trip. This will be a great weekend getaway spot in my future.

Oh, and by the way, make sure you practice your Spanish before you venture out to Publix to pick up room supplies—because you’re not in Kansas anymore. Luckily, my Spanish was good enough to get us some melted butter and steamed crab legs and shrimp for dinner.

Mr. Moe’s
While staying in Miami we ate at Mr. Moe’s near Cocowalk. We sat outside in the rocking tables. It was nice, but I felt weird that I was ordering dinner and hobos were asking us for food. In regards to the food, I’d stick to the side dishes:

• Macaroni and Cheese (side) – Some of the best I ever had
• Cornbread (side) – Moist, sweet, and delicious
• Grandma Helen’s Maryland Chicken (meal) – Nearly Tasteless
• Tea (drink) – Beth exchanged hers for a Coke. I’m not sure if they clean their tea tank very often.

It was really more of a BBQ place, so maybe I should have ordered the ribs.

Miami Seaquarium
We spent about 3-4 hours here one morning and had a great time. It is funny and sad that the venue prides itself still on being the original home of Flipper, but I guess it still brings the people in. We enjoyed the shows and talked freely for a while. The place was infested with Summer Camps, making Beth and I feel really old. It was nice being close to the animals.

Our future Miami destinations are the Miami Museum of Science and Planetarium, Miami Metro Zoo, and Vizcaya Museum and Gardens.