PRICE:
Frommer's Highly Recommended

This sprawling 650-acre golf and tennis resort is in the middle of nowhere, and even though it still looks stuck in the '70s, it deserves a star just for its legendary golf course. If it weren't for the golf course, I'd never recommend anyone stay here. It's dull, and the area in which it's located is not one anyone needs to see while in Miami. While the pamperings in the spa are nothing to sneer at, the next-door golf resort hosts world-class tournaments and boasts the Blue Monster course as well as the Great White Course -- the Southeast's first desertscape course, designed by The Shark himself, Greg Norman. Note: Repeat guests usually book the season well in advance. Rooms here, like the hotel itself, are spacious, all with private balconies, many overlooking a golf course or garden. Much-needed renovations to the rooms reveal a plantation-style decor with lots of wicker and wood. Spacious bathrooms are done up in marble. Enhancements to the golf courses, spa suites, and driving range have also brought the resort up to speed with its competition. The spa's restaurant serves tasty, healthy fare -- so good you won't realize it's health food, actually. And, for kids, there's a phenomenal kids program and The Blue Lagoon water park featuring two 80,000-gallon pools with cascading waterfalls, a rock facade, and a 125-foot water slide. For a spa or golf vacation, the Doral is an ideal choice. Otherwise, consider investing your money in a hotel that's better located.

Facilities: 5 restaurants; 6 pools and a 125-ft. water slide; 5 golf courses and driving range; 10 tennis courts; health club and world-class spa; bike rental; concierge; business center; room service; babysitting; laundry service; dry cleaning.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's South Florida including Miami and Keys, 5th Edition, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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