My Travel Itinerary: Travelling from the UK to the USA - Miami, Florida and Grenada in the Caribbean
Virgin Atlantic London Heathrow to Miami Credit @virginatlantic
Flying direct to Grenada was one of many trips that had to be cancelled due to Covid in 2021, and with a Virgin Atlantic voucher expiring this year from that trip, I’ve repurposed this vacation for Spring 2023 to now include the Florida Keys and Miami.
As much as I like revisiting favourite places and hotels, and flying on favourite airlines, I also like taking the opportunity to add new countries, hotels and airlines.
The hotels featuring in the post are:
Read on to find my full detailed travel itinerary for this trip, with helpful info on:
The best way to fly to Miami from the UK.
How we travelled to Grenada from Florida.
My top hotel recommendations for Key West, Miami & Grenada.
My personal flight recommendations for UK and US flights.
British Airways domestic connection flights via LHR Credit @british_airways
Flying to the USA from the UK
Originally we were due to fly direct to Grenada with Virgin Atlantic, connecting in London. These flights having to be cancelled, they were then converted into a voucher to be used originally by May 2023, although I think this was then later extended to the rest of 2023. When trying to rebook direct (London) to Grenada flights, the cost had more than trebled for the same Upper Class route, so I decided instead to route instead through Miami, having a few days in Key West in the Florida Keys on the way to Grenada, then a couple of nights on the return in Coconut Grove, Miami.
Our routing then became Edinburgh to London with British Airways, London to Miami with Virgin Atlantic, Miami to Key West with American Airlines. After our Key West trip , driving back to Miami International, we flew American Airlines return to Grenada, before then flying back to London with Virgin and onwards with British Airways.
Credit @sofitellondont5
Best places to stay near London Heathrow: Hotel Sofitel
Hotel website: https://all.accor.com/hotel/6214/index.en.shtml
Group website: https://thearoragroup.com/business/hotels
📍 Sofitel London Heathrow | Terminal 5 | UK 🇺🇸 @sofitellondont5 @sofitel @arora_group
This is a large hotel, 605 bedrooms and suites, but is always our go-to when needing to stay over at Terminal 5 in London’s Heathrow airport. Normally we fly British Airways, so if we do have a connecting flight it will pretty much always be T5 to T5. On this occasion though, connecting from BA to Virgin, the Virgin Miami flight was connecting from Terminal 3. With the Miami flight time bouncing around a bit in advance, while we could have taken an early domestic flight to London, I chose instead to stay over so that we could try out the Virgin limo to get us to the Upper Class Wing at Terminal 3.
The Sofitel T5 is just a walk across a dedicated bridge from the main terminal, and while the decor in the rooms is beginning to date a bit, the rooms are always immaculate with great bathrooms. There are a choice of restaurants on site, along with shops, gym, spa and pool. While the spa area has been closed since Covid, I noticed on this trip it had reopened and they were advertising it again. We didn’t have the chance to try it out again, but hopefully on a next trip when we have more time.
Credit @marquesahotel
Staying in Key West, Florida at The Marquesa Hotel
Hotel website: https://marquesa.com/
Group website: https://www.noblehousehotels.com/
📍 The Marquesa Hotel | Key West | Florida | USA 🇺🇸 @marquesahotel @noblehousehotelsandresorts
I’ll be writing a full hotel review after our stay, but this became an obvious choice for Key West because of its location and ratings. I booked one of their two Premier Suites, located in the 4-1-4 Marquesa building, just across the street from the main hotel. With 33 rooms and suites in total across the two buildings, this is a high-quality boutique hotel within only a few minutes walk of Duval Street, the main tourist hub of Key West.
Credit @americanair
Staying in Miami: Miami International Airport Hotel
Hotel website: https://www.miahotel.com/
📍 Miami International Airport Hotel | Terminal E - 2nd Floor | Florida | USA 🇺🇸
This is the only hotel located directly inside Miami International Airport (Terminal E, 2nd Level). We’ve been to Miami a couple of times before, and while I had considered staying again at a more deluxe hotel nearby, with this only being a one-night airport stop it made sense just to stay in the airport itself for convenience. We’re taking the day to drive back from Key West, getting to the airport in the evening for the American Airlines flight to Grenada the following morning.
Staying in Grenada: Mount Cinnamon Hotel & Beach Club
Hotel website: https://www.mountcinnamongrenadahotel.com/
📍 Mount Cinnamon Hotel & Beach Club | Grand Anse Beach | St. George’s | Grenada 🇬🇩 @mountcinnamongrenada @zapwater
First stop on Grenada is the Mount Cinnamon, this was a hotel we had booked on our previous stay. Really looking forward to staying here, it’s currently voted the 4th out of 43 hotels on the island, with 37 luxury villas and suites overlooking Grand Anse beach. There are two restaurants and bars, an outdoor pool, fitness centre, spa and yoga.
Hotels in Grenada: Calabash Luxury Boutique Hotel
Hotel website: https://www.calabashhotel.com/
Group websites: Relais & Chateaux Virtuoso American Express Hotels
📍 Calabash Luxury Boutique Hotel | L'Anse Aux Epines Beach | Grenada 🇬🇩 @calabashhotel @relaischateaux @virtuosoltd @jpublicrelations
Second stop on Grenada is to the other side of the island and another beach hotel, Calabash. This is currently the second top rated hotel on TripAdvisor for Grenada, and also featured in our original trip booking. At the point of rebooking, I loved the look of their Penthouse Suite which features its own private pool and dining room, but since booking this has been completely refurbished and now looks even better.
Hotels in Miami: Mr. C Miami - Coconut Grove
Hotel website: https://www.mrccoconutgrove.com/
Group website: https://mrchotels.com/
📍Mr. C Miami Coconut Grove | Miami | USA 🇺🇸 @mrchotels @leadinghotelsoftheworld
Needing to get back to Miami for the Virgin flight home, although we’ve been to Miami a couple of times before (staying in Coral Gables and South Beach), this time I thought we would spend a couple of days at the end of the trip but this time trying Coconut Grove. A fashionable and upscale district of Miami, I was instantly drawn to the Leading Hotels of the World property, the Mr. C Miami Coconut Grove. I’d looked before at one of the other Mr. C Hotels (in Beverly Hills, LA) but we ended up not staying there.
Full Travel Itinerary: Miami, Florida & Grenada
Day 1 Fly to London Heathrow (LHR) with British Airways
Early evening domestic flight with an overnight stay at the T5 London Sofitel Heathrow
Day 2 Fly from T3 London Heathrow (LHR) to Miami (MIA) with Virgin Atlantic, onward flight to Key West International Airport (EYW) with American Airlines
Long time since we’ve flown Virgin Upper Class, but I’ve wanted to try the new service for a while
Have also wanted to try the Upper class Wing experience at T3 Heathrow, where the limo takes you direct to the dedicated Virgin check-in, before going through fast track security and then to the Virgin Clubhouse.
4 nights at The Marquesa Hotel, Key West
Day 3-5 Key West, Florida
There’s a few things I want to do here, like visit the Hemingway House and Museum, have some spa treatments and try out some of the best restaurants; as well as experiencing a sunset from the most southerly area of the USA.
Day 6 Drive from Key West back to Miami Airport
With flying from Miami to Key West (rather than maybe a 4 hour drive traffic dependent after a long flight) I thought it would be good to experience the drive at least one way. We’ll get an Uber from the hotel back to the airport (only about 15 mins) to then pick up a car from Avis.
Overnight Miami International Airport Hotel (Terminal E)
Day 7 Fly from Miami Airport (MIA) to Grenada (GND) with American Airlines
3 nights at Mount Cinnamon Hotel & Beach Club, Grenada
Day 8-9 Grenada
This should be a relaxing few days, experiencing the hotel and the beach, trying out the spa and restaurant etc.
I’ve also booked dinner at the LHW property on the island, Silversands, which we had booked as a third location on the original trip, when we were due to spend longer on the island, and visit Grenada only without Miami/Key West.
Being a big gin fan, I’d like to visit the Blue Light Caribbean gin distillery.
Day 10 Short drive to Calabash Hotel
5 nights Calabash Hotel, Penthouse Suite
Day 11-14 Grenada
This hotel probably has the best rated restaurant on the island (Rhodes) and we should have a relaxing time here, trying out the various facilities like the pool, beach, yoga and I also have a private boat tour organised to the underwater sculpture park.
Day 15 Fly back from Grenada (GND) to Miami (MIA) with American Airlines
2 nights Mr. C Coconut Grove
Day 16 Coconut Grove
Maybe a day to try out the Mr. C spa, some local shopping and ideally we’d like to visit the Kampong Botanic Gardens as well as the Vizcaya Museum.
Day 17 Return flight with Virgin Atlantic from Miami (MIA) to London’s Heathrow (LHR)
Overnight flight back to London Heathrow.
Day 18 Return domestic flight with British Airways from London’s Heathrow (LHR) to Edinburgh (EDI)
Arriving back into London early morning, we will transfer back from terminal 3 to 5, for the connecting British Airways flight home.
Stay up to date with all my travel reviews!
Whenever I take a trip, as well as providing the full travel itinerary (detailed next) I’ll also provide a detailed hotel review for each property, I will be posting on social channels like Instagram and also now creating a YouTube video of any hotel too.
Please check out my links below to view more of my travel reviews, and be sure to leave a comment to let me know what you think about my travel itinerary.
Useful links:
Hotels:
Leading Hotels of the World LHW
Sofitel London Heathrow
The Marquesa Hotel
Miami International Airport Hotel
Mount Cinnamon Hotel & Beach Club Grenada
Calabash Luxury Boutique Hotel
Mr. C Miami - Coconut Grove
Classic Travel
Virtuoso Travel
Airlines:
British Airways
Virgin Atlantic
American Airlines
Restaurants of Key West:
Café Marquesa
Sunny Eggs
Mangoes Key West
Antonia’s Key West
A&B Lobster House
Sarabeth’s
Blue Heaven Key West
Other:
Pack for a Purpose
Blue Light Caribbean Gin
Coconut Grove
The Kampong National Botanic Garden
Vizcaya Museum
