Our Members Say
Abbey Hotel
A small, relatively inexpensive find in the burgeoning Collins Park district on the northern fringe of South Beach, the Abbey is a recently restored deco gem that's pure 1935. A pair of torchères originally found at Radio City Music Hall flanks the front door, as guests are immediately led into the elegant spirit of another time. The small, cozy rooms are quite charming, and many have views of Collins Park directly across the street—a rare bit of greenery on South Beach. In addition, the lobby has a very fine Mediterranean restaurant and intimate bar—both of which also feature park views—and the whole thing is just two blocks from the beach and a stone's throw from the new Bass Museum and Miami City Ballet. For an easy, secret haunt, what could be better?
Rooms begin around $150
300 21st St.; tel. 305/531-0031
EASTERN SWANK
Mandarin Oriental
The superb Mandarian Oriental chain is the first in a series of ultra-high-end hoteliers to set up an outpost in Miami (the Four Seasons and the Ritz are coming soon, but that's another story). An extraordinary, supermodern structure on chic, secluded Brickell Key, the hotel is airy and cool, with 329 rooms featuring bamboo floors, Spanish-marble bathroom, furniture designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry, and spectacular views of Biscayne Bay, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Miami skyline. Meanwhile, the on-site restaurant Azul has snagged the brilliant culinary talents of local chef Michelle Bernstein, who has gained international accolades for her dishes (don't miss the fire-roasted snapper filled with aromatics.) All in all, it's ideal not only for the business set (banking center Brickell Avenue is a short walk away), but for anyone who wants a luxe hideaway in the middle of the city.
Rooms begin around $250
500 Brickell Key Dr.; tel. 305/913-8288
BIGGER, BOLDER, MORE LUXURIOUS
Loews Miami Beach Hotel
Two years ago, the gargantuan Loews chain opened a spectacular new property on South Beach, the first hotel to open here in almost 30 years. Happily, though it doesn't have the charm or authenticity of its neighbors, its architectural sensitivity makes it fit in nicely—its art deco tower has become a landmark on the town's skyline. Inside, everything is what one would expect in a grand convention hotel: marble floors, sweeping public spaces, and elaborate pools and landscaping. Truly in-the-know guests, however, stay in the adjacent St. Moritz portion of the property, which is a restored '30s gem that houses the hotel's better restaurant, the Gaucho Room, and bar.
Rooms are over $200
1601 Collins Ave.; tel. 305/604-1601
HIP YOUTH HANGOUT
Townhouse
The just-opened Townhouse, mere steps from the beach, is one of South Beach's chicest new spots; a sleek, streamlined hangout that its owners compare to a hip dorm. Run by former Ian Schrager exec Jonathan Morr and designed by Christian Liaigre-trained India Mahdavi, the hotel is priced very competitively, with many rooms going for around $150 a night. Sparse and colorful, the guest rooms are adorned with funky touches like beach balls, condoms, and pull-out sofas for 'surprise' guests. On the roof is a solarium and glass-block sauna tower—the hotel's key visual motif—and downstairs is a southern outpost of the hip Manhattan sushi joint Bond St.
Rooms begin around $150
150 20th St.; tel. 305/534-3800
A BOUTIQUE CLASSIC
Astor Hotel
Since its opening five years ago, the Astor Hotel has maintained its status as one of the Beach's chicest boutique hotels. A two-story art deco classic, complete with elaborate terrazzo and decorative details, the property was the venue of choice for Cameron Diaz and Matt Dillon when they were filming There's Something About Mary in Miami. A first-class restaurant, helmed by 'Caribbean Cowboy' Johnny Vinczencz, and a sublime tropical bar—with whirling ceiling fans and a view of the waterfall pool—make this worth a visit even for those staying elsewhere.
Rooms are over $200
956 Washington Ave.; tel. 305/531-8081
SOUTH BEACH CHIC
Delano Hotel
Since 1995 the Delano has been the chicest hotel in town, renowned not only for attracting the world's most glamorous models, musicians, film stars, designers, and all-around fab people, but also for its much-copied Philippe Starck décor, which creates an Alice in Wonderland setting through oversized furniture, odd style combinations, and billowing white drapes. Guest rooms are entirely white-on-white, with a solitary green apple providing the only note of color. Back in the main lobby, have a drink at the Rose Bar, and then proceed outside to the pool bar so you can take in the divinely obscene display of indulgent aqua frolics, which can include anything from ordinary toplessness to acts just short of sex itself. Calvin Klein, Madonna, and Harrison Ford are all regular hotel guests.
Rooms are over $200
1685 Collins Ave.; tel. 305/538-7881
ELEGANCE AND A SENSE OF HUMOR
Biltmore Hotel
The legendary Biltmore is the last of Miami's grand old '20s hotels. Modeled after the Giralda Bell Tower in Seville, the property is a masterpiece of Spanish Mediterranean architecture, complete with balconies, stone gargoyles, and theatrical stairways. The old-world elegance is palpable, but it's juxtaposed with a bit of Miami raffishness (the ghost of Al Capone is still said to haunt the tower suite he preferred). I like to hide out in the downstairs Gothic Bar—so cool and dark—then stroll around the upper terrace and out toward the massive golf course, one of the city's best. When on the grounds, look up and observe the sublime symmetry of the structure, as well as the ornate exterior detailing, such as the Cuban tiles just above the upper-floor suites.
Rooms are over $200
1200 Anastasia Ave.; tel. 305/445-1926
www.biltmorehotel.com
CHEAP AND CHARMING
Clay Hotel & International Hostel
South Beach's bustling youth hostel may be one of the best of its kind in the country, if only for its extraordinary location—right in the center of everything, and only two blocks from the beach. When you add in the building itself, with its charming '20s Mediterranean architecture, which, though modest, features such details as Cuban tiles and courtyards, the hostel/hotel can't be beat. The rooms are standard, but travelers from all over meet and share information that only this kind of enforced togetherness can provide (and everyone seems to hook up, sooner or later).
Rooms begin under $60
1438 Washington Ave.; tel. 305/534-2988
www.clayhotel.com
DESIGNER WHIMSY
The Hotel
In his first hotel project, designer Todd Oldham infused this property with his multicolored whimsy, from the lobby furniture—bright red and green curved banquettes—to the staff uniforms, which are loose, matching tie-dyed shirts and pants that blend the blues and whites of the sea and sky. Originally called the Tiffany when it opened in the '30s, the place is now The Hotel after its 1998 reopening and a subsequent—and extremely petty—lawsuit from the jewelers Tiffany & Co. Meanwhile, the hotel's restaurant, Wish, is among the city's finest; under Oldham's vaguely Turkish lamps, chef Andrea Curto sends out fresh, uncomplicated seafood and meat dishes (she has just been named one of the country's hottest talents by Food & Wine). Be sure to take the elevator to the roof to catch the view of the blue pool, overlooking the even bluer Atlantic.
Rooms begin over $200
801 Collins Ave.; tel. 305/531-2222
www.thehotelofsouthbeach.com
AN INTIMATE HIDEAWAY
Hotel St. Augustine
One of South Beach's largely undiscovered finds, this hotel opened last fall with little fanfare, befitting its chic and subtle style. Some of its hideaway quality may have to do with its blissfully untrammeled South of Fifth location, making it a favorite with world-weary fashion and magazine types. The rooms are extremely luxe, complete with steam rooms, CD players, and an exclusive line of soaps and bath oils. The bar is one of the town's most refined, if gossipy, venues. On certain nights, however, it can get a bit raucous, such as at the Wednesday Tangerine Lounge party, when everyone lets their hair down to classic '70s disco.
Rooms in the $100 to $200 range
347 Washington Ave.; tel. 305/532-0570
www.hotelstaugustine.com
OLD MIAMI BEACH GLAMOUR
Fontainbleau Hilton Resort & Towers
This is the most famous Miami Beach hotel of all. Morris Lapidus' masterpiece of '50s modern design, the hotel is associated with everything from the James Bond film Goldfinger (which was partly filmed here) to the glory days of the Rat Pack—when Frank, Sammy, and Dino would live it up here all night. Today, though the property has lost much of its swank due to an unfortunate face-lift (including ugly carpet on the original black-and-white marble floors), it still bubbles with activity, especially around the pool, which features cascading waterfalls, well-to-do families and a number of international swingers. Plus, the rooms, especially the upper-floor suites, can be immense (think Whitney Houston in The Bodyguard, which was also filmed here).
Rooms are $200
4441 Collins Ave.; tel. 305/538-2000
KITSCH OF THE SIXTIES
Suez Motel
The outrageously kitschy facade of this Suez-mad motel—featuring 'Egyptian' lettering that could only have happened in the Miami of the '60s and a tableau of camels and Bedouins—takes me back to the days when family road-trip vacations reigned supreme. This cozy, comfy motel has rooms that one would expect: nothing fancy, but perfect for families who want to relive old road trip memories, or create new ones.
Rooms are under $60
18215 Collins Ave.; tel. 305/932-0661
www.suezresort.com
BEST FOR BUSINESS
Hotel Inter-Continental Miami
The top business hotel in town, the Inter-Continental is located minutes from the Brickell Avenue banking corridor and steps from the Bayside Marketplace waterside shopping and entertainment complex. The sprawling, skylit lobby is an ideal place for happy hour socializing amid cool marble and palm trees. Meeting spaces are large and offer great bay views; the upper-floor rooms provide superb vistas of the city, the beach, and the ocean. Although other types of guests who enjoy a more urban feel stay here, the Inter-Continental expertly caters to those who keep the city's financial engines humming.
Rooms are over $200
100 Chopin Plaza; tel. 305/577-1000
www.miami.interconti.com
SHOPPING CENTRAL
Beach House Bal Harbour
Bal Harbour is Miami's equivalent of Rodeo Drive or Fifth Avenue—a bonanza of high-end shopping featuring the most famous names on the planet. And Beach House, the ideal location for inveterate shoppers, is across the street from all those goodies (designer Michael Kors stayed here when he opened his Celine boutique). But that's not all: The hotel itself, designed by Ralph Lauren's team, is a vibrant, WASPy riot that could pass for a seaside retreat in Palm Beach or Connecticut. Step back into the Seahorse Bar for an après-shopping cocktail, and be sure to ask for the wasabi peas.
Rooms are over $200
9449 Collins Ave.; tel. 305/865-3551
www.rubellhotels.com
AN ART DECO CLASSIC
The Tides
The Tides is one of South Beach's true deco masterpieces, which at 12 (tall) stories rises higher than any other building on Ocean Drive. Entirely white and silver, it has the perfect symmetry characteristic of the late '30s, and a grand terrace that is perfect for dining and preening. Across the street from the beach, the hotel also features a meticulously restored lobby that simply aches of Astaire and Rogers: cool terrazzo floors, overstuffed off-white sofas, floor-through vistas of both city and ocean (complete with a telescope for spying on the better-looking beach dwellers). In-room blackboards are thoughtfully provided so that you can compose sweet-nothings to your companion.
Rooms are over $200
1220 Ocean Dr.; tel. 305/604-5000
www.islandoutpost.com
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