World City Guide

Hotels

All hotel bills will have a consumer tax of 6.5% added at the end, as well as a special tax levied on hotels by most municipalities, which varies from 9.5% to 12.5% depending on the district.

On top of this, it is normal to tip porters (around US$1 a bag), cabstand attendants (US$1-3 depending upon amount of people per taxi), valet parkers (US$2) and housekeepers (US$2-5 per night).

The prices quoted below are the starting prices for double rooms, excluding all taxes and breakfast unless otherwise stated.

Business

JW Marriott Hotel Miami
Distinguishing itself from others in the Marriott chain, this 22-storey business hotel brings an upscale feel to Miami’s downtown Financial District. The hotel features 300 elegantly furnished guest rooms and luxurious suites, three executive level floors and a 24-hour business centre. Expansive conference facilities contain state-of-the-art audiovisual, teleconferencing, video-conferencing and Internet capabilities. The top-notch restaurant, the Trapiche Room, and the Spa 1111 go beyond standard. health club facilities and an ultra-modern stainless steel swimming pool provide the perfect opportunity for busy executives to relax and unwind at the start or end of the day.

1109 Brickell Avenue, Brickell Village
Tel: (305) 329 3500. Fax: (305) 371 8820.
Website: www.marriott.com/property/propertypage/miajw
Price: From US$229.

Mandarin Oriental Miami
Situated in one of Miami’s most prestigious commercial districts, this five-star waterfront hotel is also convenient for the major shopping and nightlife centres of Bayside and Coconut Grove, making it the ideal choice for both business and leisure travellers. Business executives will want for nothing here, with facilities including Internet access from the palatial guest rooms, 12 multiple-sized function and meeting rooms, a 24-hour business centre offering all the latest technology and secretarial services, a first-class restaurant, Azul, and a sophisticated cocktail bar. But it is also easy to combine work with pleasure here, thanks to the luxury health spa, tennis courts and a splendid swimming pool.

500 Brickell Key Drive, Brickell Key
Tel: (305) 913 8288. Fax: (305) 913 8300.
E-mail: momia-reserve@mohq.com
Website: www.mandarinoriental.com
Price: From US$595.

Marlin
At the heart of Miami Beach’s celebrated Art Deco Historic district, this candy-coloured boutique hotel, just one block away from the ocean, is a veritable gem, attracting celebrities, entertainment executives, trendy business clientele and others in the know. Each of the 12 suites contains a state-of-the-art entertainment centre, two-line cordless telephones, web-TV with Internet access and private e-mail addresses for every guest, CD players and CD library. All have kitchenettes. Special massage, aromatherapy and ‘energy management’ treatments provide the perfect antidote for stressed-out business executives. The Marlin is also home to the South Beach Studios, drawing artists such as Aerosmith, U2 and Grace Jones, and enjoys a reputation as the ‘rock’n’roll hotel of South Beach’.

1200 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach
Tel: (305) 604 5063. Fax: (305) 673 9609.
E-mail: reservations@marlinhotel.com
Website: www.marlinhotel.com
Price: From US$245.

The Hotel of South Beach
This hotel is a design masterpiece thanks to the notable skills of designer Todd Oldham. The Hotel offers such room amenities as complimentary Internet and Wi-Fi, rain-head showers and tie-dyed bathrobes. The rooftop pool affords one of the most spectacular spots from which to view sunrises and sunsets on Miami Beach and the award-winning restaurant Wish offers wonderful food in an intimate setting that is sure to delight. Boutique meeting facilities are available as are the services of The Hotel’s highly trained production/event team.

801 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach
Tel: (305) 531 2222. Fax: (305) 531 3222.
E-mail: info@thehotelofsouthbeach.com
Website: www.thehotelofsouthbeach.com
Price: US$275.

Luxury

The Biltmore Hotel
When The Biltmore Hotel first opened in 1926, it was advertised as ‘the last word in civilisation’. Today, this gigantic hotel in fashionable, prosperous Coral Gables still remains one of Miami’s finest, upholding all the high standards of old-fashioned hospitality, craftsmanship and style, with handpainted ceilings, magnificent crystal chandeliers, Italian marble floors and Spanish ceramics. The grand edifice, with its imposing 15-storey tower, modelled on Seville’s splendid Giralda bell-tower, is registered as a National Historic Landmark. Inside, there are 280 luxuriously appointed bedrooms and suites, a fitness centre and spa, while outside there are 10 lighted tennis courts, an 18-hole golf course and the largest hotel swimming pool in the entire continental United States. The excellent French restaurant Palme D’Or draws even non-guests from far and wide.

1200 Anastasia Avenue, Coral Gables
Tel: (305) 445 1926. Fax: (305) 913 3159.
Website: www.biltmorehotel.com
Price: From US$339.

Delano Hotel
Considered one of America’s coolest hotels and the place to stay in Miami, the Delano is the choice of celebrities and style-conscious travellers. (James Bond’s Goldfinger movie was filmed at this impressive Art Deco building on South Beach with its distinctive winged tower.) The interiors, designed by Philippe Starck, are strikingly chic, minimalist and predominantly white. Even the narrow ground-floor hallway, which leads from Collins Avenue to the infinity pool out back, is flanked with tall, gauzy white linens, creating a dreamscape and catwalk in one. The ‘beautiful people’ come here for small yet trendy bedrooms and penthouse beauty spa Agua. The poolside Blue Door restaurant (see Restaurants) and back gardens are adjacent to a lovely stretch of beach, complete with towel service, umbrellas and chairs.

1685 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach
Tel: (305) 672 2000. Fax: (305)532 0099.
Website: www.delanohotelmiamibeach.com
Price: From US$545.

Moderate

Kent
One of very few affordable yet trendy Art Deco retreats in the celebrated South Beach district, the Kent is also perfectly placed for the ocean, the Miami Beach Convention Center and some of the city’s hottest shops, sidewalk cafés and nightspots. The hip lobby, with its brightly coloured cube-shaped furniture, e-mail station and breakfast bar, sets the tone for the uber-modern bedrooms, which are decked out with all mod cons – smart stainless steel accessories, cable TV/VCR, radio and CD players. Most of the 50-odd rooms are funky but the third-floor ‘Lucite Suite’ is perhaps over the top, as practically every furnishing, from bed to tables, is made from translucent plastic. Business services are available upon request and there is even an attractive garden patio.

1131 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach
Tel: (305) 604 5068. Fax: (305) 531 0720.
E-mail: reservations@thekenthotel.com
Website: www.thekenthotel.com
Price: From US$145 (including breakfast).

Miami River Inn
This famous bed and breakfast inn is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1906, not only is it the city’s oldest hotel, but it is also one of Miami’s best-kept secrets – quiet, atmospheric and set in a charming garden at the heart of downtown Miami. The bedrooms are comfortable and homely, with highly polished hardwood floors and antique furnishings, and the delicious breakfast (including home-baked muffins and freshly squeezed Florida orange juice) is served in the rooms or in the shaded courtyard. Despite Miami’s many attractions, guests staying here are often found relaxing by the small pool or on the verandah simply watching cargo ships ply the Miami River.

118 SW South River Drive, Little Havana
Tel: (305) 325 0045. Fax: (305) 325 9227.
E-mail: info@miamiriverinn.com
Website: www.miamiriverinn.com
Price: From US$99 (including breakfast).

Other Recommendations

Claridge Hotel
This spectacularly refurbished boutique hotel dating to 1928 is located just 20 minutes from Miami International Airport, 10 minutes from the main business district and a stone’s throw from Ocean Drive in Miami Beach, yet far enough away from the crowds to be exclusive. The bright, cheerful guest rooms are situated around an elegant interior courtyard atrium. Global design motifs appear throughout, from Peruvian artwork to European furnishings, together with such state-of-the-art amenities as in-room fax machines, dual-line telephones and modem points with high-speed Internet access. Further facilities include a variety of meeting spaces, an acclaimed restaurant specialising in Mediterranean cuisine and Miami’s only in-lobby splash spa.

3500 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach
Tel: (305) 604 8485. Fax: (305) 674 0881.
E-mail: reservations@claridgefl.com
Website: www.claridgefl.com
Price: From US$310.

The Tides
The tallest and most elegant Art Deco hotel on Ocean Drive in Miami Beach, this chic hotel is minimalist without being entirely white. It offers genuine style for the incurably hip, with an interior that is sophisticated, spacious and sumptuous, decorated in soft tones of white, taupe and sand. The 45 light, airy and spacious suites all have incredible views of the beach and the Atlantic and contain complete entertainment centres and the very latest in telecommunications, with three two-line telephones and modem points. The telescopes in every room are a clever bonus (the ultimate tool for people-watching), as are other creative touches, like in-room chalk boards and non-generic furnishings. The bar and alfresco restaurant, 1220 (see Restaurants), beside the Olympic-sized swimming pool on the Mezzanine Terrace, overlooking Ocean Drive, is the place to see and be seen.

1220 Ocean Drive, South Beach
Tel: (305) 604 5070. Fax: (305) 604 5180.
E-mail: info@thetideshotel.com
Website: www.tideshotel.com
Price: From US$550.