Conrad Miami was where I stayed Christmas night 2012. This is one of only four of the Hilton brand Conrad luxury hotels in the USA. The other three hotel locations are Chicago, Indianapolis and the New York Conrad opened in early 2012.

I booked the Conrad Miami stay during the Hilton 50% Thank You sale last month offered for stays in December and landed an incredibly low rate of $109 per night.

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At $1,099 per night, without a doubt, this St. Regis Bal Harbour hotel room is the most expensive hotel room I have ever stayed the night. And I am in the standard room. I tried using SPG suite upgrades, but apparently they are not allowed at this hotel.

I did not pay the $1,099 rate myself. The room here is a complimentary benefit of being a 2012 SPG Amex Star blogger for a free taste of Miami luxury.

You can stay here too for two free nights if you are the winner of 60,000 Starpoints from Loyalty Traveler courtesy of SPG American Express.

Although, I see next year the St. Regis Bal Harbour will have SPG peak season category 7 rates at 35,000 points per night from Dec 26, 2013 through Jan 4, 2014.

St. Regis Bal Harbour where every guest room has an Atlantic Ocean view.

How does every room have an ocean view?

There are no rooms on the west-facing sides of the hotel.

St. Regis Bal Harbour hotel is center building with two windowless walls viewed from Collins Avenue. The St. Regis residences are the left and right towers flanking the hotel building.

I will describe the hotel and room in separate blog posts.

How to enter the 60,000 Starpoints giveaway:

You can enter this giveaway through both Twitter and Loyalty Traveler blog. You are allowed one entry per method per day.

To enter on Twitter:

1. Follow @LoyaltyTraveleron Twitter.

2. Tweet your answer to the question “Which Starwood property is an aspirational property for you?”

3. Include @LoyaltyTraveler and hashtag #SPGAMEX in the tweet.

4. You can enter with a tweet once per calendar day 12:00AM California Time (PST) – 11:59PM PST. The contest will run through 12 noon PST Monday, December 31.

For example, an eligible tweet would be:

@LoyaltyTraveler St. Regis New York #SPGAMEX

To enter on the blog:

1. Leave a comment on this post to the question “Which Starwood property is an aspirational property for you?”

2. You can enter with a tweet once per calendar day 12:00AM California Time (PST) – 11:59PM PST. The contest will run through 12 noon PST Monday, December 31.

For example, an eligible post would be:

W Retreat & Spa Maldives

Sweepstakes terms:

You have to be at least 18 years old and have an SPG account to be eligible to win. The winner will also have to complete an IRS W-9 form (ARV of prize is $1,500).

Winner will be selected at random.

Good luck.

Comfortable lounge chairs on the balcony deck of the St. Regis Bal Harbour.

My wife’s Tumi luggage enjoying the Bal Harbour Miami Beach view. Her bag has traveled to two more states than she has in 2012.

Miles of walking over many hours across Downtown Miami on quiet streets and days December 24-25 let my mind drift and wander through images of color, shape and texture. A solitary bird by nature, my photos and words help me cement images and memories of places I  have been and sights I have seen.

Here are some of my visions of Downtown Miami over the holidays. Apparently the arrival of black vultures from around the southeast signals the winter season for Miami. I saw hundreds of the large winged birds soaring around the skyscrapers in Downtown Miami. Watch out for your rental car if you leave it alone with the vultures in the Everglades.

Metromover is just like Disneyland, except no admission fee, more stops and free wifi.

The Flying Trapeze School in Bayfront Park.

The Spindle (1981) – artist Henry Moore (1898-1986) Made of travertine marble and 18 ft. tall. The piece was installed by helicopter and the InterContinental Miami lobby was constructed around the art work. This is the largest Henry Moore sculpture in private ownership.

Architectural patterns.

Beam me up, Scotty.

Lobby in Epic Hotel, a Kimpton Hotel

Crossing the Brickell Bridge over Miami River.

Conrad Miami Hotel and Residences

Hyatt Regency Miami

The Pelican briefly resting over the Miami River outside the Hyatt.

Architectural survivors.

Freedom Tower was originally a 1925 newspaper office for Miami News that folded in the 1950s. The building was used by the U.S. Government to process Cuban immigrants in the 1960s.  The building abandoned in the 1970s was derelict, vandalized and occupied by vagrants. In 1997 the building was purchased by a Cuban-American, restored, and now houses a Cuban-American Museum and archives. 

Freedom Tower, Miami

“The man with the foolish grin is keeping perfectly still.” – Beatles

This tree stump truly brightened my day.

Art to live by.

Metromover passes by this house covered in art. The peace symbol seen on the roof from Metromover was a pleasant sight to see yesterday on Christmas Day.

I also heard Happy Xmas (War is Over) [YouTube link to official 2003 video and graphic imagery warning] playing in the elevator of the Conrad Hotel and then saw the 2-hour documentary film LENNONYC on Miami PBS last night.

Art and music smoothed out the rough edginess of spending Christmas day alone in Miami.