My Review of Marco Island, Florida

Posted on by goldenlifemusings

As a travel professional and enthusiast, one of the unexpected but welcomed outcomes of the global lockdown has been the opportunity to explore new domestic travel options. With Florida boasting some of the best beaches in the United States by far, I’ve made it my go-to vacation spot during the pandemic. 

I’d heard great things about the southwest coast of the Sunshine State so I decided to make it the destination for my birthday trip in February. I’m so glad that I did. Depending on what type of traveler you are, Marco Island, which is a beautiful barrier island 20 miles south of Naples, you may have one of two completely different reactions to it. Let me first share with you some potential drawbacks before I discuss everything I loved.

Real Talk

Marco Island, and really the entire southwest region, is not particularly racially diverse as far as residents or travelers. Think the opposite of the Miami region, which is about a 2.5-hour drive away. For an indication of what I mean, I looked at the last census numbers and the racial makeup of the city was 95.9% white.

This beautiful year-round beach and boating resort island is also extremely laid back. That means if you’re a beach bum like me, a nature lover, or a golf fanatic, you’ll really enjoy yourself. Those are the primary attractions this resort town has to offer. If you are an adventure freak or someone who needs a mix of turnup with their beach vacay, you’ll be extremely disappointed. But, if you are a couple who’s looking for a romantic, quiet getaway or a family with young children, this vacay spot is for you. And if you are a bachelor/bachelorette group or a family looking to entertain your teenage children, it’s best to look at some other options.

Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, let me share with you everything I loved about Marco Island and the beautiful boutique resort I patronized, The Marco Beach Ocean Resort.

The accommodations

My favorite part about this quaint, oceanfront resort is that it offered spacious suites with breathtaking sunset views for a reasonable price. Contrasting the Cheeca Lodge Resort in the Keys I blogged about last month with gorgeous sunrise views, this resort gave a front-row seat to the most beautiful sunsets I’ve seen. 

The one-bedroom suite also offered a full kitchenette complete with a refrigerator, microwave, stove, and oven. This is perfect for reheating leftovers or cooking your own budget-friendly meals. 

I also loved that this boutique resort was serious about its covid safety procedures. All staff wore masks and properly socially distanced. The resort also had signage requesting that all guests wore masks in public areas and numerous hand sanitizing stations.

The beach

This barrier island on the Gulf Coast side of Florida offers six miles of blue-ish, green waters and powdery, white sand that is filled with beautiful seashells close to the shoreline. This is a great thing if you like to collect seashells. The drawback of this beautiful scenery is that this shoreline can do serious damage to your feet! I recommend sea shoes. Be careful! 

Most of the resorts, like the Marco Beach Ocean Resort, offer beach-side service and plenty of comfy beach chairs and umbrellas. However, when the hotel is at capacity, you will want to get down to the beach as early as possible, if you’d like to reserve prime seating. 

The water was a bit chilly in February, but during the late spring, summer, and fall months, the water is ideal for water wading. I should also mention that the weather in February was perfect – sunny and warm with low humidity. 

The food

If you’ve been reading my blog for some time, you know I couldn’t talk about a destination without reviewing the culinary delights. If this is your first time reading Golden Life Musings, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Leslie, and I’m a foodie.

Whenever I visit a new place, I try to visit as many of the restaurants at that destination as possible. Let me first say that I did not have a bad meal in Marco Island. At least three of my meals were at the resort, and they were all spectacular. The highlight of my experience, however, was at the Italian restaurant Sale e Pepe, which offered a special pre-fixe 5-course meal for my birthday dinner. (FYI, this also happened to be Valentine’s Day). It was a whole FIVE STARS!

Here are some of my other personal recommendations:

  • The yellowtail snapper with a lemon, garlic butter sauce and szechuan green beans at Marco Prime Steak & Seafood Restaurant
  • Crab legs (or blue crabs if they have them), Pinchers claws and crab rangoon at Pinchers
  • Kale salad and parmesan truffle french fries at The Beachfront Bar & Grill at the Marco Beach Ocean Resort

Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed my time on Marco Island. Candidly, I was looking for a quiet vacay where the goal was to relax at the beach all day, enjoy delicious culinary treats and spend quality time with my mom and significant other while taking in the beautiful, serene environment around me. If that’s your jam, Marco Island’s got you covered.

Foodie Heaven

Posted on by goldenlifemusings

foodie-featured

Foodie – noun  food·ie  \ˈfü-dē\: a person who enjoys and cares about food very much; A foodie seeks new food experiences as a hobby rather than simply eating out of convenience or hunger. Yep that’s me. Many people travel to South Beach (SoBe) for bachelor and bachelorette parties or just to party in general. Not me. I come to SoBe to eat. Well I come for the beach and the sun too, but there’s nothing like indulging my inner fat girl with what I like to call Foodie Heaven.

There are dozens of wonderful places to dine in SoBe and I know for sure I haven’t been to them all yet but I can recommend some of my “staples” that I come back to almost every time I’m in town, which is quite frequently. Whether on Collins Ave, Ocean Drive or Lincoln Road, there is a dining experience for just about everyone waiting to ignite your foodie senses as well.

Grillfish: I know there is an extensive selection of fresh fish daily, hence the name, and I’ve seen it well prepared on other people’s plates, but I cannot stop myself from getting the same dish every time I dine there. They had me at shrimp scampi. Yes, I am a self-professed shrimp scampi connoisseur and this is literally the best I’ve ever tasted. Ever. And I’ve had my fill of shrimp scampi over the years.

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Shrimp Scampi Pasta at Grillfish

Red The Steakhouse: There are plenty of great steakhouses in SoBe and I’ve tried a good number of them considering I’m a carnivore, but Red is my favorite. The bone-in ribeye with the garlic topping will change your life. And if you pair it with the Belle Glos Pinot Noir, well I might as well just send you to heaven right now!

Dolce: This quaint Italian treasure is tucked away in the Gale Hotel on Collins Avenue and has a branzino/seabass dish to die for. If you are a meat lover, try the Veal Saltimbocca, which is my mom’s favorite. Their menu changes quite frequently but the food there is amazing so I don’t think you can go wrong with any dish you select.

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Branzino with broccoli rabe at Dolce

Cleo: Another restaurant on Collins you might miss if you weren’t looking for it but I promise, once you’ve gone, it will become your second home. This Mediterranean tapas-style restaurant has a little bit of everything for everyone. Before you order anything though, make sure you order the Lebaneh with Feta and Cucumbers and Yogurt dips to go with the hot bread they serve you…Yummm! Some of my other favorites: the kale flatbread (which my mom calls her crack lol), the Brussel sprouts and the roasted lamb.

Kale Flatbread
Roasted Lamb

CJ’s Crab Shack: I have to say, I’m not a fan of eating on Ocean Drive because many of the restaurants are overpriced simply because they exist on Ocean, but CJ’s is not one of them. I found this delightful gem of a restaurant on one of my girlfriend’s getaways a few years ago and it has some of the best seafood for half the price of its neighbors. As a DC girl who loves her crustaceans, CJ’s can do no wrong with their crablegs and shrimp scampi platter.

Sushi Samba: This unique Japanese/Brazilian/Peruvian fusion restaurant can be found in several cities across the U.S. but I have to say my favorite is in SoBe. I don’t eat sushi often but when I do, I dine here and get the Ezo samba roll, absolutely delicious! No worries if you don’t like sushi, they have plenty of other yummy goodness to go around like the braised shortribs, vegetable tempura and chicken teriyaki Samba-style. Oh, and if you are a mojito lover like me, you’ll absolutely want to indulge in their authentic mojito selection.

Grilled vegetables and classic mojito
Ezo Samba Roll

 

If you’re a self-professed foodie too, you won’t want to miss my review of South Beach’s Food and Wine Festival next week. Stay tuned!