This hotel has a spirit! And I mean this in the entirely positive way of saying spirit. After a night in my room I was feeling like a new person. The beds are made of clouds and you can have only beautiful dreams in them. The hotels offers Wi-Fi Internet so you can check your email while having your morning coffee. The shopping area is not that close but the beach is just some 5-10 minutes from the hotel.

Slightly set back from the other Art Deco hotels, it is very peaceful, a short walk to the beach, a short walk down to South Beach where all the action takes place.

It has a great feel to it, with period furniture and decoration. Although clean and tidy, the rooms do feel a little 1936, though.

The courtyard is pleasant and the pool looked tempting (but was a little too cold).

Oh - P.S.: No double beds!! (Or that's what they told us New Year's Eve!)

We actually had a small suite as we had our 11 year old son in tow and it was fabulous at $200 a night. 2 showerooms, 1 King and a fab fold out deco style double for the lad. It is a bit crusty round the edges but easily makes up for this with the staff who are some of the friendliest I've come across in my world travels. From the totally laid back receptionist who should be in a Marlowe movie to the Brazilian-soccer-mad chef, everybody was helpful. The pool and garden are fabulous and well hidden in a busy area. The only downers were that the stereo had one speaker not working, and there were some cracked tiles in one of the bathroooms - no I'm joking. Whilst it might not be all new and shiny this is going to always be my first choice in Miami. Just try and book a room on the garden side (unless you're used to traffic noise).