Clio Festival on a budget
Posted on
2007-Apr-9
at
12:53
Miami is known for lots of things. Great weather. Amazing architecture. Low-carb diets. And beautiful women with little dogs wearing designer duds. But one thing it’s not known for is being cheap. From transportation to accommodations, eating to entertainment, it seems that nothing comes without a hefty price tag.
Last May I traveled to South Beach, Miami, with ihaveanidea for The Clio Awards. And to be honest I was prepared for the worst --financially. While the notion of attending a world-renowned festival and hanging out with advertising greats was quite appealing, the thought of completely draining my piggy bank to do so was not. The lavish lifestyle portrayed on TV and in the movies led me to believe that I’d be hard-pressed to survive at the beach on a Junior Art Director's salary -- even if I was only going for a few days. Untrue. Don’t get me wrong, you could easily break the bank down there and have a lot of fun doing it, but you can also get the full Clio’s experience on a shoe-string budget.
TRAVEL • Flying with the cargo isn’t an option. Trust me, I asked.
Aside from your Clio’s Passport, your biggest expense will be actually getting down there. Flights from Toronto and Montreal typically range from $400-450, while flying from Vancouver will cost upwards of $600. However, with the right timing, price guarantees and crossing the border before you board the plane, you can definitely save yourself a few bucks.
I found that the sweet spot for ticket purchases occurred about a month or so before the event. Those who bought too early watched prices go down. And those who bought too late -- myself included -- paid more, and usually ended up on an indirect flight.
When getting ready to buy, shop around and take advantage of price guarantees. I found that while Flight Centre didn't usually offer the lowest price up front, they were always willing to beat out a competitor such as Travelcuts. So find the best price on the net and get Fight Centre to beat it.
Lastly, if it’s viable, make your away across the border before you fly. Based on today’s prices, a flight out of Toronto will run you just over $450, while Buffalo-Miami is selling for $267 Canadian (including taxes) through Orbitz. So bribe your roommate with some chicken wings and head for the border.
Once you’ve touched down in Miami your next expense is transportation to South Beach. The value-conscious can travel like the locals do and hop on the Miami-Dade Transit for $1.50. This'll take about an hour, depending on traffic, so those in a rush might want to look for the Airport SuperShuttle. It’s a shared van service that will take you door to door for $20/person. If you’ve arrived with friends, however, sharing a cab will work out even cheaper as it’s a $32 flat rate, which can be split between as many as 4 people.
ACCOMMODATIONS • $24 dorm room or $5,000 penthouse. Take your pick.
South Beach offers an incredibly diverse range of accommodations. Ocean view penthouses go for thousands of dollars a night, though the majority of ihaveanidea’s staff elected to stay at The Clay Hotel, where dorm style beds go for as little as $24/night. That gets you a clean bed (linens included) in a clean hostel with free Wi-Fi in the lounge. Combine that with a great location and this place is the obvious choice for the budget-conscious junior. They also offer private hotel rooms, with shared bathrooms for as little as $48. A private bathroom will cost $8 more.
FOOD • Low price. High carbs.
If you’re not worried about your waist, your food tab can be kept to a minimum. Through trial and error, ihaveanidea found some of the best cheap eats in South Beach. Nat recommends Cheeseburger Baby for the best burger in Miami. It’s a whole meal, he says, for only $7. Brett was a huge fan of The Pitchfork and El Tropicale hotdogs from Dogma Grill for under $4. Personally, I enjoyed the huge $3 pepperoni slice from Pizza Rustica. Jay on the other hand could be found late at night -- or very early in the morning -- taking in some old-fashioned greasy grub from Jerry’s 24-hour diner. For breakfast, however, James gets the innovation award for heading across the street to the Art Deco Supermarket and grabbing an entire cooked chicken for only $6. They also offer a wide range of baked goods, which can reduce your breakfast costs by buying a 6 pack of muffins or bagels and throwing it in your fridge.
ENTERTAINMENT • Living the high life without the high prices.
The official Clio parties are amazing. The vibe is great and the booze is flowing. And your Clios passport will get you in. But what about the unofficial after-parties? There’s lots of them and they tend to be at one of the high-end beach hotels. So how do you get in? Easy. Put away your room key from The Clay and walk in. It’s just a hotel bar, not an exclusive club. And what you spend is up to you. You can hang out and take in the sights for free, or buy one over-priced drink and nurse it all night. It’s really up to you. And usually the after-parties won't empty your wallet if you’ve taken advantage of the complimentary bar at that night’s event.
Then there’s the karaoke bar at The Shelborne, where you can rock out until 5:00am. This year it was where the masses migrated to after the other hotel bars closed. There’s no cover and the drinks are moderately priced.
And during happy hour (usually 3:00-6:00 p.m.), the bars on Ocean Drive are the place to be for cheap drinks. 2 for 1, half-priced, call it whatever you want.
CONCLUSION • I made it home with more than tumbleweeds in my bank account.
All in all it was amazing. I’ve never seen so many ads, been so inspired or partied so hard in my entire life. And if I actually knew how to do a cost-benefit analysis, I’m sure it’d report that my experiences far outweighed my costs.
I hope to see you all this May at The Clio Awards.
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