36 Hours in South Beach, Florida
The Gansevoort South Hotel fashionable rooftop pool and bar
MIAMI SOUTH BEACH has too much cologne, critics say; too expensive, too crowded. But like other American meccas of decadence, SoBe still has an irresistible, democratic pull.
For everyone from the pale Iowa retiree to the Bentley-driving rapper, it remains the place to strut shamelessly. And even jaded locals still indulge.
For the timeless South Beach experience, amble along to the wooden boardwalk that extends from 21st to 47th Street before city planners replace the raised platform with a ground-level path.
Take in the views: on one side is the ocean; the other, the crumbling, yet-to-be-renovated Art Deco hotels that offer a Pompeii-like look back at Miami Beach when diving boards and peach walls still dominated.
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Several hotels have recently opened in Miami Beach. Among the swankiest is the W South Beach (2201 Collins Avenue; 305-938-3000; www.wsouthbeach.com), where every room offers ocean views, a Bose sound system and enough gray marble in the bathrooms to make you feel like you’re in a hamam. Rooms start at $384.
The Gansevoort South (2377 Collins Avenue; 305-604-1000;www.gansevoortsouth.com) has 334 rooms with slightly higher prices, from $395, in a building it renovated but still shares with longtime residents (who use a separate entrance). The enormous pools are a highlight.
South Pointe Park, at the tip of South Beach, has been treated to a $22 million facelift and looks fantastic.
Midbeach — which means more cab rides — sits the Fontainebleau and its $1 billion renovation (4441 Collins Avenue; 305-538-2000; www.fontainebleau.com). Rooms start at $429 plus a $12.95 resort fee.
