Kimpton Shorebreak Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort

Some of Kimpton’s hotels are new builds, tailor-made for their time and place. Others, like the Kimpton Shorebreak Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort, make the most of existing structures, updating them for the boutique-hotel era. This one dates back to 1949 as the Escape Hotel, the first of the city’s hotels near the beach to have its own swimming pool, and to stay open year-round. Such conceptual quantum leaps belong, for the most part, to the past — today’s upscale boutique hotels can only hope to refine their offerings, and execute their plans more effectively than the competition.

This is where Kimpton’s expertise comes in. The group’s hotels have always successfully walked some fine lines: design that’s attractive but not intimidating, service that’s personable but not intrusive. The Shorebreak is no different; its style is all its own, thanks to its masterfully updated mid-century interiors, but it’s perfectly in keeping with the brand’s aesthetic. Today it features not one but two pools — one on the rooftop — and it’s still a block from the beach. Meanwhile they’ve added loaner bikes and yoga mats, in a concession to modern leisure tastes. And the restaurants are thoroughly modern as well: the South Florida–meets–Italian La Fuga, and the poolside bar, simply called the Rooftop.