Sunfinder Vacations

Overlooking the ocean in South Beach, this 375-room hotel is set in the city’s historic Art Deco district. Designed in 1953 by Morris Lapidus design, the restored hotel features a two-story-high lobby with black terrazzo floors, circular wood columns, and a winding staircase leading to the mezzanine level. Guests are primarily vacationing travelers.

This 31-story resort sits on Collins Avenue overlooking the white-sand beaches of the Atlantic Ocean. The resort evokes the retro feel of classic Miami Beach hotels. With a continuous curved design, huge pillars, and a soaring 25-story ceiling, the lobby welcomes business and leisure travelers. There are l,000 works of art throughout the hotel.

Built in 1939, this three-story Art Deco District hotel has an intimate lobby with period accents and original 1930s paintings. Located on Ocean Drive amidst shops, cafés, and nightclubs, the hotel is a popular choice for leisure travelers in town to enjoy the club and beach scene.

Exquisitely landscaped grounds and gardens flank the winding path to the 650-acre resort's three-story clubhouse, where arriving leisure travelers check in. The comfortable, wood-accented lobby houses Doral's Hall of Champions and features portraits of the last 40 years of PGA winners.

What to expect: Designed by Henry Hohauser and built in 1938, the landmark Essex House Hotel enjoys a corner location, at Collins and 10th, in the Art Deco Historic District. An intimate lobby showcases Art Deco-style furniture. A large outdoor verandah with seating areas is perfect for socializing and people-watching. Guests and visitors must be over 21 years of age to stay at the hotel, making it popular with couples.

Amenity highlights: This Miami Beach hotel offers an outdoor pool in a tropical-garden setting. Guests can enjoy complimentary daily Continental breakfast in the lobby bar or outside on the veranda. The bar opens each evening for cocktails. Complimentary wireless Internet access is available throughout the Essex House Hotel.

The hotel can sometimes arrange VIP access to popular nightclubs, including Prive and Pearl (surcharges).

What to expect: Originally built in 1963 and later renovated, this large Miami resort has a tropical feel and caters to an international mix of vacationers, including families. The hotel’s stretch of beach is more private than that of most Miami Beach hotels. Located three miles from South Beach, this resort offers easy access to restaurants and nightlife, as well as a quiet spot to unwind.

Amenity highlights: The Miami Beach Resort and Spa includes a salon with spa services and a health club. Guests can rent boats and other equipment at the private dock. The beachfront pool offers concierge services including towels, snacks, magazines, and lounge chairs. Supervised children’s activities are complimentary.

The resort offers four dining options, a self-serve business center, 40,000-square-feet of meeting space, and wireless Internet access (surcharge).

The Ocean Five, built in 1939, has an eye-catching pink, cream, and yellow Art Deco façade and is actually two hotels combined: the former Surf and the Olympic. The family-operated hotel welcomes guests into a small living-room-style lobby with Mediterranean decor. Guests are primarily business and leisure travelers who appreciate the hotel's old-world charm mixed with high-tech amenities.

Designed by Morris Lapidus, this Art Deco-style oceanfront hotel rises 11 stories and overlooks both the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway. The two-story circular lobby with a mezzanine offers pool and beach views and is famous for its overhead floating-cloud motif. At the end of a busy day, leisure and business guests unwind at the bar in the lobby.

Built in 1939, the Albion is one of Miami Beach’s art-deco masterpieces. The interior design is minimalist and elegant: the lobby has a slanted silver waterwall, and all furniture in the lobby and guestrooms has been custom-designed to reflect the hotel's low-key ambiance.

Two bubbling fountains border the entry to the 17-story Alexander Oceanfront Resort, which primarily hosts leisure travelers. A soaring, curved wooden staircase delivers guests to the mezzanine level and the resort's shops and restaurants. Large, wood-framed French doors bring in natural light and warmth to the lobby.

This Art Deco boutique hotel on Ocean Drive is a central location for guests in town to enjoy sand and sea, South Beach nightlife, outdoor cafés, and shops. Evenings, when the hotel’s restaurant is open, the lobby transforms into a sea of color and light.

This smoke-free South Beach hotel is made up of two former hotels, one Mediterranean-style and the other Art Deco, now joined by a walkway. Registration takes place in the main building, which features arched doorways, striped awnings, and an interior courtyard. Located one block from the ocean on Collins Avenue, the hotel primarily attracts leisure travelers.

Built in 1939, this boutique hotel blends Art Deco styling with modern twists. In the lobby, neon art lights up the walls, and decor includes modern high-back couches, shag pillows, an oversize divan, and eclectic furniture. Candles and mood-light panels create an evening transformation. Located across the street from the beach and within two miles of South Beach and Lincoln Road, the hotel primarily attracts vacation travelers.

Authentic hand-carved Mexican furnishings, a volcanic ash floor, ornate artwork, and flowing white curtains set a European tone in the lobby of this boutique hotel. A rooftop terrace offers ocean views and a quiet escape from the Miami Beach scene. The lobby has a high-speed Internet kiosk and wireless Internet access. The clientele is mostly leisure travelers.

Built in 1942 and renovated in 2004, this 14-story oceanfront hotel retains its Art Deco charm while offering modern amenities. A mezzanine wraps around the two-story lobby, which features the hotel’s original columns, terrazzo floors, and blend of wood and chrome.

This four-story, all-suite hotel is located on the ocean on bustling Collins Avenue just north of Miami Beach. The lobby's coral-and-teal color scheme and towering indoor Florida palms create a casual, beachside ambience for guests, who are primarily leisure travelers. A busy guest-services desk arranges tours and transportation to Miami’s famous shopping areas and restaurants.

What to expect: Built in 1957, the Deauville has retained its 1960s Miami Beach character with a spacious, marble-floored lobby and a lobby bar that provides a lively place for lounging and mingling. The hotel draws a mix of leisure travelers and conventioneers. Floor-to-ceiling windows provide glimpses of lounging guests on the outdoor patio and pool areas.

Amenity highlights: The resort sidles up to more than 700 feet of white-sand beach along the Atlantic Ocean. Pool and beach umbrellas and cabanas are available to rent. An outdoor pool, spa tub, and Tiki Bar offer ocean views. A fitness center is on site. The health spa and salon provides massage, tanning, and other beauty treatments (surcharges).

Insider tip: One of the most famous stretches of road in Miami is the Miracle Mile District in Coral Gables. This four-block stretch along SW 22nd Street is a popular shopping area accented by lush fountains and flowers. Small boutiques and major department stores are located here. From the Deauville, it's about a half-hour trip (21.5 miles).

Located on the beach in the quiet Sunny Isles community of North Miami Beach, this 27-story Doubletree Resort has a unique circular design. Leisure travelers check in at the small, intimate lobby with panoramic views of the ocean. The View restaurant sits off the main lobby, and an outdoor patio area overlooks the ocean.

This stylish 42-story all-suite tower is set amid 22 oceanfront acres. The hotel’s shuttle takes guests to the area’s shopping destinations, and a seventh-floor Sky Pool and a private beach offer ample relaxation for guests whose idea of a perfect vacation is a comfy lounge chair, a cool tropical drink, and a glorious beach just steps away.

Originally built in 1937, Hotel Victor was completely renovated and reopened in 2005. The eight-story South Beach hotel celebrates its past with a beautifully restored Earl LePan mural, iron railings, and terrazzo floors in the lobby. Whimsical touches include couches shaped like fried eggs, cylindrical ceiling lamps with strands of crystals, and stained-glass artwork.

A polished, white, automated piano maintains an up-tempo beat in the expansive atrium lobby, which has discreet seating areas with leather sofas and chairs and abundant artwork, including a giant sculpture by Yaacov Agam that nearly touches the ceiling. The hotel draws a mix of business and leisure travelers and often hosts the headliners performing at the adjoining James L. Knight Center.

Le Meridien Sunny Isles Beach overlooks the ocean on the northern end of Miami Beach. A two-story lobby with mezzanine, ultra-modern decor, and beachfront floor-to-ceiling windows provides a dramatic backdrop for vacationers seeking a quiet spot convenient to the shops, sights, and nightlife of the busier parts of the coast. A 30-seat lobby bar attracts guests.

This 788-room oceanfront Loews Miami Beach Hotel comprises the restored, 1930s Art Deco St. Moritz hotel and an adjacent, contemporary, 18-story tower. Giant columns, high ceilings, sky domes with cloud formations, sunken lounge spaces, and marble flooring create a modern Art Deco style in the tower lobby. Clientele includes business types attending on-site conferences, as their families take advantage of the pool, beach, weather, and the Miami scene.

What to expect: Located on Collins Avenue in the quieter, northern section of Miami Beach, this 12-story beachfront resort is a great choice for families and vacationers. The hotel's large outdoor swimming pool and children's wading pool overlook the white-sand beaches of the Atlantic Ocean, which is swimmable throughout the year.

Amenity highlights: The resort offers a large outdoor pool, poolside bar and café, and children's wading pool with views of the ocean. The on-site fitness center includes a sauna and steam room. A tour desk is available for help with excursions and dinner reservations. The resort also serves a complimentary Continental breakfast buffet. Wireless Internet access is available throughout the hotel's public spaces and guestrooms (included in daily resort fee).

Designed by Romanian architect Robert Swartburg and opened in 1948, the Marseilles Beachfront Hotel's Art Deco style extends into a high-ceilinged lobby with a gold-painted column, terrazzo floor, and cushioned wood furniture with pronounced geometric forms. An international clientele comes here for ready access to the beach, to nightlife, and to the Miami Beach Convention Center three blocks away.

The 13-story National Hotel was built in 1939, and the lobby contains original period antiques and richly designed wood furnishings. The concierge desk is a precise replica of the original from 1939. In the heart of South Beach, the hotel caters to an upscale mix of corporate and leisure travelers.

During the week, guests are primarily business travelers. On weekends, vacationers take advantage of the hotel's proximity to Coconut Grove's nightlife and its easy access to downtown Miami, Coral Gables, and Miami Beach. The hotel's Italian Renaissance style is inspired by nearby Villa Vizcaya, a lavish mansion built in the early 1900s and surrounded by formal gardens.

The lobby of this 10-story Miami Beach hotel harkens back to the glory days of Miami Beach with gold columns, terrazzo-style floors, gold-accented elevators, and a large, flower-shaped chandelier. Within two miles of South Beach and the convention center, the Riu Florida primarily attracts leisure travelers.

Overlooking the white-sand beach and Atlantic Ocean, the Royal Palm South Beach Resort is within a mile of the Miami Beach Convention Center and Lincoln Road pedestrian mall. The Art Deco District hotel has a modern Deco lobby with original terrazzo floors, brightly colored artwork, and nautical-style porthole windows.

Opened in 1940, this pink-and-white hotel features Art Deco accents, modern lines, and retro-style furnishings. Located within four blocks of the convention center, Lincoln Road, and the Bass Museum of Art, the oceanfront hotel attracts a mix of business and leisure travelers.

The 22-story Sonesta Bayfront Hotel is located in Coconut Grove, which offers dining, shopping, and entertainment options late into the night.

This 11-story, Art Deco-style hotel sits on the beach on the quieter end of South Beach. A sparkling chandelier, vibrantly colored neon lighting, and art-covered walls create a Deco ambience in the two-story lobby with mezzanine level. Retro-designed furniture groups provide quiet conversation areas for business and leisure guests.

Opened in late 2004, the oceanfront hotel consists of two 10-story buildings at the residential end of South Beach. The modern lobby has marble floors, a copper registration desk, and eclectic artwork. Located four blocks from the Art Deco District and two miles from the convention center, the hotel is popular with families and business and leisure travelers.

Bombay fans gently whir overhead, towering columns grace the comfortable seating area, palm trees dot the landscape, and terra cotta floors add casualness to the spacious lobby. A boardwalk at the back of the property overlooks the hotel’s exquisite gardens and ocean. Business and leisure guests enjoy cocktails on the outdoor veranda overlooking the beach.

This icon of Art Deco architecture was redesigned in early 2008 to incorporate materials and colors from the sea. Furnishings of vintage recreations provide a nod to the hotel’s start in 1936 as the “Grande Dame” of South Beach.