For the first time this year, Miami-Dade's tourism bureau dedicated June to romance-related deals: weddings, honeymoons, babymoons (yes, they exist), anniversaries, etc. And now one Miami hotel has expanded that, creating a package for those who want to pop the question.
The Conrad Miami's Down-on-One-Knee package includes an overnight stay at the downtown Miami hotel; dinner for two with a special menu and wine pairing; a bottle of champagne with engraved glasses and chocolate-covered strawberries; breakfast delivered to the suite; transportation to the airport; a couples massage and, for the sake of comfort, a knee pillow.
The package is available through Dec. 22; rates start at $595.
For Delray Beach resident Nicholas Rodkin, the package was the perfect alternative to a costly and more time-consuming Caribbean vacation when he wanted to propose to his girlfriend, Brandi Dawkins. He came across the offer after his early research failed to turn up the perfect spot.
"I came across several restaurants and ideas but nothing grabbed me -- nothing was detailed enough to make me happy," he wrote in an account of the proposal. "Proposing is very nerve-racking for a guy."
After careful planning that involved crafting a believable reason for the trip, checking every last detail with hotel staffers and sending a CD with the couple's favorite song to the hotel so it could be on when they arrived in the room, Rodkin proposed on July 30.
Dawkins, of course, said yes.
Actually, Rodkin said, "She couldn't say it but she nodded yes...several times."
