PRICE:
Frommer's Highly Recommended

The Loews Hotel is one of the largest beach hotels to arrive in South Beach in almost 30 years, consuming an unprecedented 900 feet of oceanfront. This 800-room behemoth is considered an eyesore by many, an architectural triumph by others. However you perceive it, you can't miss the hotel's multitiered cone-shaped 18-story tower perched high above the rest of South Beach. Rooms are a bit boxy and bland: nothing to rave about, but are clean and have new carpets and bedspreads to erase signs of early wear and tear from the hotel's heavy traffic.

The best rooms are those that do not face the very congested Collins Avenue, since those tend to be quite noisy. Though Loews attempts to maintain the intimacy of an Art Deco hotel while trying to accommodate business travelers, it is so large that it tends to feel like a convention hall. You're not going to get personal doting service here, but the staff does try, even if it takes them awhile. If you can steer your way through all the name-tagged business people in the lobby, which, thanks to a popcorn machine, smells much like a mega-plex, you can escape to the pool (with an undisputedly gorgeous, landscaped entrance that's more Maui than Miami), which is large enough to accommodate families and conventioneers alike. In addition to children's fare such as the Loews Loves Kids program -- featuring special menus, tours, welcome gifts for children under 10, supervised programs, free accommodations for children under 18, and the Generation G program for grandparents and grandkids traveling together -- the hotel hosts fun activities for adults, too, such as Dive in Movies at the pool, salsa lessons, and bingo. Emeril Lagasse opened Miami's first ever Emeril's restaurant here, making the Lowes a bigger focal point for seeing and being seen than ever before.

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

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