Gale South Beach

An Art Deco hotel on Collins Avenue that promises retro glamor, a killer cocktail bar and a rooftop swimming pool ringed by beautiful, evenly sun-tanned people? It’s crazy, but it just might work. It’s true that the Gale isn’t exactly turning South Beach hospitality on its ear — then again, there’s no sense tampering with so successful a formula.

Full disclosure — a lot of the Forties-era vintage furnishings, the twinkling chandeliers, oak panels and smooth white marble — are replicas. That’s because the Gale, built in the Tropical Art Deco style by L. Murray Dixon in 1941, closed in the ‘60s. The intervening years weren’t necessarily kind to all its contents, but if the upshot is sparkling-new mid-century modern-inspired furnishings and décor, we’re not complaining.

These days it’s been fully restored to its earlier brilliance. Though the hotel, like the better-known Art Deco landmark hotels down the street, offers retro charm in spades, the Gale is a very contemporary boutique hotel. The lobby is lovely but not overwhelmingly grand; its centerpiece is the cozy, oak-walled Regent Cocktail Club, popular with local cocktail connoisseurs. There are just 87 rooms, some of them a bit on the cozy side for South Beach; consider an upgrade if you desperately want to stretch out. Details like silver silk curtains and polished white marble baths add mid-century allure; tech-minded accessories, like oversized LCD screens and iPod docking stations, cater to the modern, wired traveler.

The rooftop deck, with its infinity pool, ample chaise lounges and mojitos served at the pool bar, is certainly the Gale’s crowning glory. Better still, as a hotel guest, you have access to the K17 beach club down on the sand, where staff (dressed in white, what else) will be happy to set up your umbrella for you. It’s a brand of glamour that may not be revolutionary — but we guarantee you’ll be raising a glass in toast to the old days, as you’re sipping cocktails in the shade.