Virgin Atlantic Airways Flights from London, Great Britain (LHR) to Miami (MIA)
As part of booking roundtrip flights which depart from US airports,
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on Virgin Atlantic Airways, which operates a daily non-stop flight from London, Great Britain (LHR) to Miami (MIA) regularly scheduled to depart at 9:20am and arrive at 2:05pm. Usually an Airbus A340-600 is flown for this route. The average travel time from London, Great Britain to Miami, FL is 9 hours and 45 minutes.
During your Miami vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
Monkey Jungle
Personally, I think this place is disgusting. It reeks, the monkeys are either sleeping or in heat, and it's really far from the city, even farther than the zoo. But if primates are your thing and you'd rather pass on the zoo, you'll be in paradise. You'll see rare Brazilian golden lion tamarins and Asian macaques. There are no cages to restrain the antics of the monkeys as they swing, chatter, and play their way into your heart. Screened-in trails wind through acres of "jungle," and daily shows feature the talents of the park's most progressive pupils. People who go here are not monkeying around -- many of the park's frequent visitors are scientists and anthropologists. In fact, an interesting archaeological exhibition excavated from a Monkey Jungle sinkhole displays 10,000 year old artifacts including human teeth and animal bones. A somewhat amusing attraction here, if you can call it that, is the Wild Monkey Swimming Pool, a show in which you get to watch Sea Monkeys diving for food. If you can stand the humidity, the smell, and the bugs (flies, mosquitoes, and so on), expect to spend about 2 hours here. The park's website sometimes offers downloadable discount coupons, so if you have Internet access, take a look before you visit.
United in Elián House
It was only a matter of time. After Elián González was rescued from a raft off the coast of Fort Lauderdale in November 1999, he lived in this modest, now famous, Little Havana house with relatives for 5 months before being reunited with his father and returned to Cuba in a storm of controversy. For Cuban nationals, the house became a shrine and the boy became a symbol for their struggle. There are collages of Elián all over the house; there's also trash in the yard as if someone still actually lives there. Apparently there was no time to clean up before the throngs of curiosity seekers came and the place was turned into a museum. Visitors receive a sticker with "the picture" of when the boy was seized by Federal marshals and returned to his father -- a day of infamy in Cuban-American history. See where Elián lived, played, breathed, and ate. See Elián's toys. See where the international media camped out for 5 months. See where relatives cried for the cameras. You get the picture.
Holocaust Memorial
This heart-wrenching memorial is hard to miss and would be a shame to overlook. The powerful centerpiece, Kenneth Triester's Sculpture of Love & Anguish, depicts victims of the concentration camps crawling up a giant, yearning hand, stretching up to the sky, marked with an Auschwitz number tattoo. Along the reflecting pool is the story of the Holocaust, told in cut marble slabs. Inside the center of the memorial is a tableau that is one of the most solemn and moving tributes to the millions of Jews who lost their lives in the Holocaust I've seen. You can walk through an open hallway lined with photographs and the names of concentration camps and their victims. From the street, you'll see the outstretched arm, but do stop and tour the sculpture at ground level.
National Hotel
With its towering ceilings, sultry furnishings, and massive gilded mirrors, the elegant 1940s-style National ought to be the backdrop for a gangster flick. At 11 stories, the main building stands taller than most of its neighbors and offers grand views of the beach and ocean below. The hotel completed a $3 million renovation project in late 2003, revealing a much needed, brilliant, luxurious refurbishment of the tower rooms and hallways. For those who want to go all out, there's also a new three-story penthouse suite. And while all the rooms in the main hotel are comfortable and plush, the best rooms are the 32 poolside cabana rooms that are ultra modern, with flatscreen TVs, European linens, and feather pillows. What the hotel really needs to invest in next is its lackluster lobby, which is somewhat reminiscent of an old age home at nap time.The National's pool, however, is the hotel's crown jewel. It's Miami's longest pool (205 ft.) and can be considered the supermodel of hotel pools, lithe and graceful and almost too sleek (rivaling even the Delano's pool) for splashing. The hotel's Tamara is an elegant and formal dining room offering French fusion fare, and the Deco Bar (or D'Bar) looks like a 1940s movie set. Live entertainment on weekends, a wine connoisseur club, and happy hours during the week add to the ambience.
Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort & Club
One of Miami's classiest resorts (along the lines of the Mandarin Oriental), this gorgeous 300-acre compound, has every possible facility for active guests, particularly golfers. You'll pay a lot to stay here -- but it's worth it. The main attractions are two Trent Jones courses, available only to members and guests of the hotel. A new seven-story Jasmine wing looks like a Mediterranean village and is surrounded by tropical gardens that are joined by covered marble walkways to the other wings. Treat yourself to a "Turnberry Retreat" at the Turnberry Spa, which recently underwent a $10 million renovation. The spa comprises three levels of deluxe pampering and includes aerobics and fitness classes, stress reduction, massage therapy, and a juice bar designed for complete rejuvenation. Impeccable service from check-in to checkout consistently brings loyal fans back to this resort for more. Its location in the well-manicured residential and shopping area of North Miami Beach known as Aventura means you'll find excellent shopping and some of the best dining in Miami right in the neighborhood. Unless you're into boating, the higher-priced resort rooms (instead of the yacht club) are where you'll want to stay; you'll be steps from the spa facilities and the renowned Veranda restaurant. The well-proportioned rooms are gorgeously tiled to match the Mediterranean-style architecture. The huge bathrooms even have a color TV mounted within reach of the whirlpool bathtubs and glass-walled showers. The only drawback to this hotel is that you'll need to take a shuttle to the beach. Celeb alert: You never know who may stay here. Paul McCartney and his new wife Heather Mills were here just before they tied the knot and allegedly had a huge enough fight that Mills threw her rock of an engagement ring out the window. A week later, Sir Paul paid for a staffer to personally fly the ring back to his estate in the U.K.Facilities: 6 restaurants; numerous bars and lounges; 2 outdoor pools; 2 golf courses; 2 tennis complexes; state-of-the-art spa; extensive watersports equipment rental; concierge; secretarial services; 24-hr. room service; babysitting.
Conrad Miami
Although you won't find ubiquitous Hilton heiresses Paris and Nicky at this business oriented hotel (they hang out on South Beach), you will find luxury-lovers who have no interest in minimalism and J-Lo spottings and, instead, prefer to bask in the Hilton brand of luxury. The Conrad Miami joins its London, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Brussels, and New York siblings in the form of this 203-room, 36-floor skyscraper located in the heart of Miami's financial district, which opened in January 2004. While at first you may feel as if you're in an office building, once you walk over the bridge across a sparkling pool, visions of cramped cubicles and bad lighting will immediately disappear. The lobby is located on the 26th floor, which is illuminated by a magnificent atrium that shares the attention with a restaurant, lounge, and bar and splits the difference between the 203-guest rooms and the 116 fully serviced luxury apartments. All rooms feature hyper-high-tech amenities such as flatscreen TVs, and, best of all, INNCOM, a bedside remote that controls all lights, thermostat, and do not disturb signs in the room. Because this is a condo-hotel, expect nothing but the best in amenities, including a superbly-equipped fitness center, two tennis courts, and a remarkable swimming pool. Also set to open is an upscale retail center, with stores in which only the likes of the Hilton sisters can afford to shop.
