3 Best Hotels in South Beach, Miami and Miami Beach

Not to be confused with the budget Bentley Hotel down the street, the Hilton Bentley Miami is a contemporary, design-driven, and artsy boutique hotel in the emerging and trendy SoFi (South of Fifth) District, offering families just the right mix of South Beach flavor and wholesome fun while still providing couples a romantic base without any party madness. Occupying two 10-story buildings with a prime beachfront location, rooms and suites (collectively called "studios") range from snug to colossal, each adorned with a perfect mix of art deco redux and modern bling. They feature Italian-marble flooring, kitchenettes, and balconies facing either the ocean or the Miami skyline. It happens to be one of the area's few kid-friendly boutique hotels, and, as such, for the little ones there are child-size beach chairs and umbrellas as well as a bunch of other kids' amenities on request.

This two-tower megahotel has 790 rooms with a soothing, sea-inspired motif, top-tier amenities, a massive spa, a great pool, and direct beachfront access, making it a great choice for families, businesspeople, groups, and pet lovers. When it was built in 1998, Loews managed not only to snag 99 feet of beach but also to take over the vacant St. Moritz next door and restore it to its original 1939 art deco beauty. The entire complex combines boutique charm with updated opulence. How big is it? The Loews has 85,000 square feet of meeting space and an enormous ocean-view grand ballroom. A three-story spa has 15 treatment rooms and a state-of-the-art fitness center. In the grand lobby you'll find a dozen black-suited staffers behind the counter and a half dozen other bellboys and valets. Rooms are great: contemporary and very comfortable, with flat-screen TVs and high-end amenities. But the best part is the pool area, just steps from the beach and equipped with cooling misters.

The recently renovated Ritz-Carlton is a trendy beachfront bombshell, with a dynamite staff, a snazzy Club Lounge, and a long pool deck that leads right out to the beach. There are all the usual high-level draws the Ritz is known for and more. Expect attentive service, a kids' club, property experiences like a shark-tagging boat excursion with the University of Miami, and high-end food and beverage offerings. The spa has exclusive brands of scrubs and creams. New dining includes a sultry bar, Lapidus, and a bright, airy pool-view restaurant, Fuego Y Mar, serving Mexican, Cuban, Venezuelan, and Colombian fusion dishes. The wonderful DiLido Beach Club restaurant is, believe it or not, one of the very few places in Miami where you can get a beachside meal. The ocean is on one side and the pedestrian Lincoln Road begins on the other: the locale is tops. Overall, this landmarked 1953 hotel, designed by Morris Lapidus, has never been hotter.