The Betsy - South Beach

In Miami the flash hotels arms race has escalated to a point where a hotel like the Betsy — South Beach is almost shocking in its restraint. We’re almost tempted to call it conservative, but with a disclaimer: the Betsy’s pre-deco style means it’s got a personality all its own, and can’t help but stand out from the poolside fashion shoots and celebrity-thronged nightclubs of its more attention-starved neighbors.

This was pretty much the last Georgian-style hotel to be built on Ocean Drive, and was, at the time, called the Betsy Ross. To be fair, the image of an old woman sitting in a chair sewing a flag is probably the wrong one for the hotel’s present incarnation, which folds in the former Carlton Hotel on Collins Avenue as its “Hohauser” wing. Interiors are contemporary but still classic, the palette sunny yet restrained, contrasting rich corals and greens with the ever-present Miami white. Bespoke fixtures and furnishings anchor the seaside ambience, picking up earthy notes of walnut, teak, raffia, and wicker.

The absence of a paparazzi-strewn nightclub scene takes nothing away from the hotel’s nightlife — we’ll take a Laurent Tourondel steak-and-seafood restaurant over a celebrity DJ night any time. And the amenities are marvelously sedate: there’s the beach, of course, plus a rooftop pool and solarium with a view out to sea and a fitness center. We suggest light bites, espresso or cold-pressed juices in the Carlton Room Café.