South Beach

[Caliper 0]

Not exactly a watch scam, but boy did I get scammed good and I want to warn everyone here.

 

Making a very long story short, I was vacationing at Florida a couple of weeks ago, went to south beach, my girl was bugging me about wanting to eat in one of those cafes by the beach, she wanted "something nice", the night before we ate Pollo Tropical because we were short on time and tired from shopping that day.

 

At the hotel I was looking for restaurants on the internet at south beach, saw about Prime112 being the "in" restaurant, but my girl wanted to go to one of those stupid cafes was in a hurry and didn't get time to search reviews of those dumb cafes, we thought it wouldn't be so expensive and not have to wait 2h to get seated like in Prime112, so we went there, we walked around seeing the menus of the cafes and all this obnoxious greeters kept harassing us to eat there and telling us how good their food is, how they have 2x1 drinks and would give us 20% discounts if we ate there making it very difficult to see the menu itself.

After seeing a whole bunch of cafe that were basically the same thing, we decided to stop at the one with the most people and better ambiance, it was called "Sea Cafe" The waitress was very quick to tell us the specials and interrupt us from seeing the menu, the prices didn't seem steep considering the premium of a "by the beach cafe", she mentioned a platter for 2 people of lobster and meat samples that was almost the same as the paella, I had seen the paella price on the menu and was not expensive. Before that I went to the bathroom to wash my hands and the guy before me, an European, came out warning me the restroom was very dirty, indeed it was a pigs dump.

 

I ordered a peruvian ceviche for my gf as an appetizer and the platter as the meal, a mojito and margarita.

 

We get this huge ass drinks that were watered down and tasted horribly, then we get the ceviche, that was not "peruvian" style and tasted stale, then we get the platter, a freaking malnourished lobster and 2 pieces of sirloin steak (the cheapest type of beef)

 

At that point I just wanted to get the hell out of that place before I puked, I ordered the check and to my surprise the bill was................224 dollars!!! the platter was 124 bucks, the drinks 20 each and they added 20% gratuity, I was pissed off, but I was so freaking tired and I just didn't felt like fighting this shit because it was very late, I just payed and got the hell out. I was expecting the bill to be expensive but not like that. Shit, for 224 bill including 20% gratuity the TGIF waitress at the corner would give me a blowjob!

 

Needless to say my gf didn't bother me the whole trip about food again. I later search about all those cafe and they are all tourist traps and they scam everyone the same way I was, some people have even called the police to no avail. I was thinking about making a claim to my bank about the credit card I payed with but that would have locked my main credit card use for the rest of the trip.

So a warning to you guys, don't eat at those fucking beach cafes in Florida.

 

Sorry about the long post, I tried to shorten it the best I could.

[agntkerr 0]

Welcome to south Florida, should have asked advice from people who live here first.

[dingle 57]

should have asked for QC pics

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[AustinTech 0]

QC pics BEFORE you pay! Ding's got it right.

[houndoggie 58]

What a fuck up. Sounds like something that would happen in Mexico. Pay by credit card, call credit card company and tell them how you were scammed, and hopefully get them to reverse the charges.

[tsomers 0]

I know it's too late, but tripadvisor on your phone would of told you it was 342 out of 380 restaurants in Miami Beach. Thanks for the heads up though.

[DeLaForce 2]

Pollo Tropical FTW!!!! Probably cost you less than a shit cocktail too . Better luck next time

[Member X 91]

I think a good rule is to only eat where the locals are eating! I made the mistake of eating in the Piazza on Milan's main square (Piazza Duomo, is it?) rather than looking for a side street restaurant. I had a pizza and the girl I was travelling with had a plate of chips because she thought she was getting more than that... LoL And it was fucking expensive!!

[SubFrog 0]

Sorry to hear your difficulty...we saw those places all along Ocean drive.

 

Check this S. Beach SCAM out:

 

I booked a room in South Beach with Sobeach Rentals for a condo at the 5 star Bentley hotel on ocean drive, right on the beach. This was an anniversary trip for me and the wife. Beautiful photos, great price, and perfect location.

 

To make a long story short...that room is NOT associated with the hotel...even if it is in the hotel. This "privately owned" room doesn't even deserve a star - bug infested, torn chairs, dirty beds. When we got there, the valet would not take our car; because we told him the room we were in. We had to park in a $20 per night lot 4 blocks away. The front desk, literally, would not talk to us; because of the room we were in. The rental company was, of course, "out sick" the week we were in S. Beach. I tracked down the location of the rental company and went there only to find a boarded up window in a unoccupied strip mall. Calling the cops did no good.

 

I had to claim I was a lawyer, my father was a judge, and they were screwed (which is only partially true)...2 weeks later and 100 phone calls, I got my money back.

 

Nightmare.

 

If you ever hear about an agency in SoBe that rents private rooms at The Bentley or The Shellborne...avoid like the plague.

 

http://www.sobeachrentals.com/ (dead site now)

http://nightlyfe.com/wmc/wmc-traveler-alert/

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g34...ch_Florida.html

[Ollifl 0]

South beach, huh? We used to go to those "5 star" hotels in the -80's and pay 10-20 bucks a night, called them "roach motels".... Anyway, you didn't notice that all the locals had a slice of pizza in their hands, and a soda, that's all they can afford there and IMHO that's the only thing moderately priced and edible.

[houndoggie 58]

Hmmm, makes me really not want to go to South Beach.

[Ollifl 0]

Hmmm, makes me really not want to go to South Beach.

 

 

Don't take me wrong, SoBe is a fun place to goto, just don't stay and eat there. Miami is a beautiful place but you have to do your homework not to get ripped off.

[SubFrog 0]

Hmmm, makes me really not want to go to South Beach.

 

Yep...I've traveled the world and one place I will never go back to is S. Beach. EVERYTHING is a scam. We felt like a couple without a country...nobody would help us. Everywhere you turn, somebody was trying to scam you. We had to drive to Ft. Lauderdale just to feel like we were back to normal. Sorry to the Florida or SoBe residents, I know you don't like to hear this. We have similar problems in my city...but, at least it's in small pockets and you can get away from it.

 

To be fair: Little Havana was fun (in daylight)...got some good cigars. And Lincoln Road was good shopping and easy dining.

 

As others have mentioned...consult with the locals before making a trip, dining, or booking a location.

[houndoggie 58]

Hmmm, makes me really not want to go to South Beach.

 

Yep...I've traveled the world and one place I will never go back to is S. Beach. EVERYTHING is a scam. We felt like a couple without a country...nobody would help us. Everywhere you turn, somebody was trying to scam you. We had to drive to Ft. Lauderdale just to feel like we were back to normal. Sorry to the Florida or SoBe residents, I know you don't like to hear this. We have similar problems in my city...but, at least it's in small pockets and you can get away from it.

 

To be fair: Little Havana was fun (in daylight)...got some good cigars. And Lincoln Road was good shopping and easy dining.

 

As others have mentioned...consult with the locals before making a trip, dining, or booking a location.

 

 

fuck it. Not worth my time then.