I'm in Miami B%$tch...

Photo taken from my phone atop the Fountainbleu hotel.

Picture it, mid-April...Miami, Florida. This was my last and final trip to Florida during the winter months, however this was a legit work trip. I was attending an outdoor advertising conference at the Fountainbleu. I really did not plan on visiting a Panera during this trip, because I wasn't sure if I would have time to wander off-course to find one.

Turns out that just like John Ritter used to say as he pitched Hooked on Phonics...."where there's a will, there's an A."....well substitute that "A" for "way" and you get my point.

I was put in charge of booking the rooms. Being the frugal shopper that I am, upon arrival to our hotel, I soon find new meaning to the phrase, "You get what you pay for". Turns out, this place was smack dab in the middle of South Beach. I pulled up to the hotel late that Friday evening to what appears to be a non-stop MTV Spring Break episode. Not exactly what I had envisioned. The hotel was perfect...if you planned on passing out every night from intoxication.

My point is, they nickel and dimed you for everything at this hotel. Wifi was $10 per day. My parents arrived a day later than me, and on my way to pick them up from the airport, I found a Panera!! Naturally, I made a pit stop along with my lap top to this Panera before we went to the hotel.

The review.

Date visited: April 10
Time of Day: 5ish
Items ordered:
Me: Unsweet Tea
Bob: Coffee, black
Deb: Hazelnut coffee + free item (cinnamon crunch bagel which we all shared)

I was extremely happy to be at a Panera. After spending a day on South Beach, my pocket book was suffering. It was nice to see normal prices again. (Just to compare, a glass of iced tea at one restaurant on South Beach was $6)

Random NOTES.

• The outlet situation at this Panera was awful.
• The cashiers were extremely slow. But to their credit, they did allow deb to use her free "pastry" as a bagel...pretty sure that is illegal in Panera's rule book.
• Hazelnut coffee is very popular. Deb went to get her coffee, and there was none available. It took a long time for them to refill the hazelnut variety.
• This particular Panera is not owned by Covelli, although they do own several Florida Panera's