Miami 2021: Diary – Day 7

After a rainy day the previous day, we were looking forward to some better weather and were rewarded with a sunny morning.

Enjoying the Pool

After breakfast with my wife, the boys headed down to the pool. I stayed in the room to do some travel planning for our hoped-for travel to Dubai over Christmas. My wife was with the boys and working by the pool before her meetings started.

Once the meetings started we switched and I worked by the pool. Our youngest had made a few friends and was enjoying passing the football. They were getting pretty waterlogged by the time lunch rolled around.

Back in the room my wife was still in the core of her meetings so the boys and I went to lunch on our own. We all decided to go back to our new favorite place, Finnegan’s Seafood. The staff was beginning to recognize us!

We had a relaxing and very filling lunch but the boys somehow found room for ice cream on the way back to the hotel!!

Lodging our Complaints

By this point we were still pretty frustrated with our room and our overall hotel experience. The noise from the first night didn’t keep us awake as much the second night, though we still heard it a few times. The “fixed” shower was still leaking enough to be a slip-hazard. The balcony door didn’t work any better after maintenance looked at it.

This was not the luxury experience we had hoped for and it was time to re-voice our complaints. On our way back to the room we stopped by the front desk and talked with the lady that had checked us in. After hearing our complaints she promised that a manager would contact us on my wife’s phone number. We were hopeful this could help bring some resolution to our misery. Part of my morning trip planning had been looking for alternative places to stay. It’s not a good sign when a Residence Inn looks more appealing than the St. Regis…

COVID Tests

Back in the room we relaxed for a few hours in the afternoon while my wife finished work and we waited for the call from the manager. I was also finalizing our plans to get our COVID test which we needed to return to Massachusetts and be exempt from quarantine.

I had researched that we could get a test at the Fort Lauderdale Airport with results in 48 hours or less for a PCR test, which was the requirement at the time. We had made an appointment on the website and filled all the required paperwork hoping to streamline the process when we arrived at the airport.

We waited out front of the hotel for our Lyft to arrive and watched as countless high end cars streamed in and out through the valet. It was a 25 minute ride to the airport. Fortunately the COVID testing location was well marked and we found it easily. There was a short line in front of us but when we got to the front it took only a few minutes to process the payment as we had a reservation. We confirmed we needed the PCR test and they directed us to a separate room to complete and confirm our paperwork. From there we went in groups of two to the next room to get the nasal swab and were done within minutes.

It was painless except for the nasal swab part 🙂

Dinner back at the Hotel

After the tests were done, we headed to the Lyft pickup area. We somehow got the same driver for a third time in a row (from our Christmas trip, on arrival for this trip, and this time)! It was 25 minutes back to the hotel and we decided to walk into town to get dinner since we hadn’t eaten yet. We ended up at the same place we went for lunch.

I somehow managed to find yet another thing to try on their menu for the first time. I tried one of their burgers as I had tried a larger entree for lunch and wasn’t as hungry. We all filled up and had a “Flan-tastic” time at Flannigan’s!

The boys wanted to get popsicles for dessert at Morelia’s across the street. My youngest is particularly addicted to the Nutella topping along with rainbow sprinkles. Yummy!

Back at the hotel we still hadn’t heard from the manager about our situation. We double checked both our voice mails but nothing. It was late and we just wanted to sleep so we’d have to follow up the next day.