Miami

Hot and Cool Spaces 

Club crawling has been replaced by hotel hopping in Miami, where you’ll find the best restaurants in lobbies, on rooftops and poolside at hotels.

By: Jodi Mailander *

 

Along with blindingly bright days at the beach and the smoldering Latin vibe, happening hotels have become part of the city’s allure, especially in the adult playground of South Beach, where the increasing presence of celebrities is raising the demand and nightly rate for a posh suite.

It’s not enough anymore to offer a shoebox-size room by the sea in a charmingly hip art deco hotel. Meals cooked by big-name chefs, a Turkish massage in a hammam and gatherings in the lobby at night are part of the new hotel experience.

“The hotels that are thriving are the party hotels,” says Louis Aguirre, an entertainment reporter for WSVN-TV who co-hosts the show Deco Drive. “They not only offer comfort, but a real scene.”

The newest kid on the block is the sleek, neon pink Hotel Victor (www.hotelvictorsouthbeach.com; from $385), an 88-room resort in the middle of the Art Deco District on Ocean Drive and adjacent to what was once Gianni Versace’s mansion. Here, the fashion-forward crowd on velvet couches, a jellyfish-filled aquarium distracts diners at the hotel’s restaurant, Vix, and downtime in the spa can be spent in a steam room. Art lovers and media types gather just north of the Ocean Drive frenzy at the Sagamore (www.sagamore hotel.com; from $375), a 91 suite hotel where Social Miami, a restaurant lounge, features video art on screens inside and on the outdoor terrace. With its white washed modernist facade, the hotel is known for an impressive collection of photography, paintings, and sculpture.

Established chic hotels, such as the ocean front Delano (www.delano-hotel.com; from $350) and the restored Raleigh (www.raleighhotel.com; from $350), are still strong bets, with their pool scenes. But they’ve been joined by a host of new, elegant hotels that have ratcheted up the glam-o-rama drama.

Like the Delano and Sagamore, the Asian-inspired, opulent Setai (www.setai.com, special rate from $475 through October) is within walking distance of the Lincoln Road promenade, which is succumbing to chain stores, but still manages to feel bohemian with its out-door cafes and parade of people. In the same neighborhood is the Ritz - Carlton South Beach (www.ritzcarlton.com, from $329), a restored 1953 Morris Lapidus designed landmark that houses famed chef David Bouley’s Evolution restaurant.

As Aguirre points out, the toughest dinner reservations in Miami today are in restaurants in South Beach hotels. Among the best: Nobu in the Shore Club (www.shoreclub.com, from $315). Along with its famed Japanese restaurant, the resort features 309 rooms and bungalows with hand-painted fabrics and teak furnishings, on a tranquil stretch of sand north of the Art Deco District.

The trend toward brand-name chefs continues to converge on Miami hotels. Nuevo Latino chef Douglas Rodriguez’s latest venture is Ola at the Sanctuary Hotel (www.sanctuarysobe.com; from $215), a swank 30-suite boutique off the beaten path north east of Lincoln Road. Its neighborhood, across from the Jackie Gleason Theater, is still transitioning out of a forgotten state, giving it the air of being on the edge of something big. This area is the place to head if you actually want to sleep at night without Ocean Drive’s throbbing sound-track in your head. Another mellow option is the Hotel St. Augustine (www.hotelstaugustine.com; from $139), two blocks off Ocean Drive and the beach in the South of Fifth district. The restored 1937 art deco jewel has 24 loft-style rooms decorated with modern, maple-wood furnishings, a spa filled with hydrating skin products, and beach towel as notable amenity in Miami.

Bargain hunters are in luck. Located in the thick of things on South Beach, the Clay’s Hostel (www.clayhotel.com /hostel; from $75) shares a 1920s building with a hotel by the same name on picturesque Espanola Way. The struggling-artist spirit of the place is proof that big spenders haven’t totally taken over the playground.


* Jodi Mailander Farrell writes about travel for The Miami Herald.