FLORIDA FEATURE ARTICLES : MIAMI

Living Large - the Luxury Hotels, Resorts and Spas of Miami
Miami luxury hotels

During the past five years, three Ritz-Carlton hotels, a Four Seasons, the Mandarin Oriental, Miami, and a slew of other luxury hotels and resorts have opened in Miami, confirming the city's status as a world-class international destination. Keeping apace, established resorts have poured millions into renovations, upgrading rooms and adding amenities. From beachfront resorts to urban oases, with spas that rank among the world's best and magical restaurants overseen by celebrity chefs, Miami's luxury hotels and resorts cater to the world's most discriminating travelers. Not since Sammy Davis, Jr., Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and their infamous Rat Pack held court at the Fontainebleau has Miami attracted such a parade of well-heeled clientele.

Ritz-Carlton has become a major presence in Miami in very short order. In no other city worldwide does the company boast three properties in such close proximity -- all are ten minutes from downtown Miami.




The new Ritz-Carlton South Beach opened in January 2004 after a $200 million restoration of the historic 1950s DiLido Hotel. The oceanfront resort, located in the heart of South Beach's eye-popping Art Deco District, is a showcase for Art Moderne design, with 375 rooms and suites resembling staterooms on a luxury ocean liner. Many of the hotel’s original design elements, originally envisioned by Miami Beach visionary Morris Lapidus, have been preserved, including black terrazzo floors. The hotel boasts a 13,000 square foot spa and fitness center, an elevated central pool and an art collection valued at over $2 million.

The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne is located just five miles from downtown Miami on the idyllic, laid-back key known for pricey real estate and top-rated beaches. Featuring 402 well-appointed guestrooms and suites overlooking lushly landscaped gardens and the Atlantic Ocean, the Ritz is home to a 20,000 square-foot ocean view spa, which offers a menu of natural therapies guaranteed to restore and relax. A full slate of wellness classes, including Pilates, yoga and aqua-aerobics, is offered and for the even more ambitious, the hotel has an 11-court Tennis Garden and nearby championship golf. Parents can relax while their children are entertained at the Ritz Kids pavilion with their own pool and beach playground.

Five minutes away, the Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove is an intimate boutique hotel (with only 115 rooms and suites) with an astonishing array of amenities that helped earn it the AAA Five-Diamond Award. Taking personal service to a new level, the hotel staff includes Bow Wow butlers to exercise, feed and provide entertainment (doggie videos, etc) for guests' pets. Bath butlers organize and draw luxurious soaks from a wide array of bath menus, including a gentlemen's bath complete with cognac, and fitness butlers will schedule in-room yoga sessions or have exercise equipment delivered from the hotel's on-site fitness center and spa to guestrooms.

Open in downtown Miami since 2001, the 329-room Mandarin Oriental, Miami also recently garnered the coveted AAA Five Diamond Award along with its signature restaurant (5 Star) Azul. Blending cool Asian design aesthetic with sexy touches that reflect Miami's diverse cultural influences, Mandarin Oriental is a perfect fit in a cosmopolitan, sophisticated city. Not content to rest on its laurels, the hotel recently introduced a new private beach at the luxurious waterfront property, the Beach Club. Here guests can enjoy Oriental-style furnishings, while being tended to by Beach Butlers, who pamper guests with cool towels and mist services. Award-winning Azul boasts floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Biscayne Bay and a stunning white marble-clad open kitchen and raw bar that provides the stage for the restaurant's Latin/Asian/French cuisine. A deluxe three-level waterfront spa offers the ultimate escape with 17 private treatment rooms that each use natural textures such as bamboo, rice paper, and natural linens.

Also downtown Miami, the JW Marriott Hotel Miami, a 22-story business hotel and meeting center, was designed to meet the demands of today's sophisticated traveler with 300 elegantly and ergonomically furnished rooms and a 24-hour business center.

A complete resort with ten restaurants and lounges, 1,260 rooms and the Atlantic Ocean outside its windows, the Fontainebleau Resort is the biggest and perhaps the most famous hotel on Miami Beach. Stomping grounds for Elvis, Frank Sinatra and countless other swinging celebrities during its first heyday and renowned for its whimsical Morris Lapidus architecture and design, the resort recently opened a luxury tower and is in the process of a major upgrade in building a second additional tower.

Next door, the 349-room Eden Roc Renaissance Resort & Spa features a redesigned pool deck and one of Miami Beach's few beachfront restaurants. The 55,000 square foot Spa of Eden is consistently ranked among the top in the nation, with a full slate of exercise classes, the latest weight training equipment and unparalleled pampering services including massages on the beach.





Photo: Visit Florida









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