PRICE:
Frommer's Very Highly Recommended

Just next door to the mammoth Fontainebleau Hilton, this large Morris Lapidus-designed flamboyant hotel, opened in 1956, seems almost intimate by comparison. The hotel underwent an $11 million renovation of the beachfront in 2001. The nautical Deco decor is a bit gaudy, but nonetheless reminiscent of Miami Beach's Rat-Packed glory days of the '50s. The 55,000-square-foot modern Spa of Eden has excellent facilities and exercise classes, including yoga. The big, open, and airy lobby is often full of name-tagged conventioneers and tourists looking for a taste of Miami Beach kitsch. The rooms, uniformly outfitted with purple and aquatic-colored interiors and retouched 1930s furnishings, are unusually spacious, and the bathrooms boast Italian marble bathtubs. Because of the hotel's size, you should be able to negotiate a good rate unless there's a big event going on. Harry's Grille specializes in seafood and steaks. From Aquatica, the poolside bar and restaurant, bikini-clad patrons can enjoy casual meals and priceless ocean views. At press time we heard that the new owners of the resort were planning to add a 20-story tower with 300 rooms costing between $15 and $20 million.

Facilities: 2 restaurants; lounge; bar; 2 outdoor pools; health club and spa; watersports equipment/rentals; concierge; tour desk; car-rental desk; business center; salon; limited room service; in-room massage; babysitting; laundry service; dry cleaning; squash courts; racquetball courts; basketball courts; rock-climbing arena.

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

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