Steal My Vacation: Unrivaled 1:1 Finals in Miami

Let's be honest: Unrivaled Basketball is one of the few brights spots in 2025. All the stars of the WNBA playing a super-fast 3:3 format? Yes, please, distract me from the disaster that is the new administration. We've watched pretty much every single game on Max, and idly looked at games / flights only to realize that nothing in the 8-week schedule was a fit. Bummer. 

Then, while watching the 1:1 tournament on Monday, I noticed there were quite a few empty seats in the stands. Even though we're going to Colombia on Sunday, should I book a last minute trip to Miami to see the finals in person? As Alexis said: "this is so stupid, and I love it." There we go. 

It was an excellent, stupid decision. 

I'll admit, it was feeling more stupid than excellent when our 7:50pm JetBlue flight to Miami was 2 hours late and we ate the worst meal in memory at Terminal 5. Lesson learned: avoid the Custom Burger food court stop--go with the sit-down restaurant. Lowlights: the french fries somehow still tasted frozen, despite being cooked? and the gluten free bun somehow absorbed all moisture from the burger no matter how many condiments were applied. So: don't steal that. 

But do steal: 

Miami in February: It's 3 hours away, and absolutely perfect weather. The neighborhood most convenient to Wayfair Arena, Doral, was not near the water, but breezy and fancy in a Miami small-dogs way. There was a nice playground downtown and we did not need a car.

Fairmont Inn & Suites Doral. After the debacle of the Hampton Inn in Philly, I paid very careful attention to the reviews on booking. The power of the crowd did not disappoint: clean, pleasant, convenient (~15 minutes from MIA), with free wi-fi breakfast. We got a suite with a pull out couch so we were not three in a bed, and spent much of the day by the pool, watching planes fly startlingly low overhead. And, while the free breakfast was not super-GF friendly unless you like green apples, or strawberry yoplait (why does it taste so weird?), it was extensive and featured a kid-favorite mango sauce for the homemade waffles. And the coffee was actually pretty good.

Lunch: It was a 15 minute walk through a fancy neighborhood to Downtown Doral. There were even sidewalks! We saw a few good options, but settled on Barra Vieja. First, I was drawn in by the adorable outdoor furniture (where do I buy it?) and then was obsessed with the blue color of the walls, but the food was excellent. The lobster tacos with peanuts (?) were the best tacos I've ever had in my life, the romaine salad was great, the guac was excellent, and the french toast was a kid-hit (it had caramel sauce + meringue + strawberries). The fancy margarita was also smooth and delicious. You're on vacation--live it up. 

Dinner: Walk back to the same neighborhood and eat at Pura Vida. It's health-conscious in a bougie way, and delicious. I had the GF salmon bowl which had a perfectly cooked piece of salmon, Alexis had the tuna bowl, and the kid meal of chicken + rice was fully consumed (this has never happened before). They also had some branded watermelon + cucumber kombucha, if no alcoholic drinks. 

Wayfair Arena: Things to know: 

• Location: Your rideshare will not be able to find it from the address. The arena is tucked behind an office building called MediaPro. Get off somewhere near there and follow your map. 
• Fan Fest: We were running a little late because I was accused of eating my bowl too slowly, so couldn't really check it out but it seemed fine, not extensive. It's a corridor outside the building with an Allstate basketball game like at the carnival, and a few photo spots? And free cans of Sprite.
• Food: Unless you can get by on an empanada, the arena does not have dinner. Eat beforehand. They do have a few snacks and drinks. 
• Merch: The gift shop all the shirts, but no sweatpants, so you can't get the full fit. I guess those are online-exclusives? 
• Seats: Think padded folding chairs. I chose row A directly behind the announcers so we could have a TV cameo, but for watching, you probably want row B. That said, really all of the seats are amazing--the area is small and pretty intimate. It kept feeling unreal that I was really there. Everything is so close. And Aaliyah Edwards came out and signed autographs post game. She was right there!

And then, of course the games were amazing. Huge congratulations to Queen Phee on the win, but really to all the players for a great tournament. Next year I'm hoping it corresponds to mid-winter break, so we can go for a week and see all the games. Or maybe I'll just book another stupid but brilliant 1-day, 2-night trip.