KAYAK Miami Beach

For a little while there, Miami Beach’s hotels were in danger of losing touch with what’s unique about the city: not just the undeniable glamour of the place, but the backdrop of unhurried, quasi-tropical ease against which it’s set. KAYAK Miami Beach, however, is a timely reminder that it’s not just perfectly possible to combine stylish elegance and cheerful relaxation under one roof — it’s actually the essence of Miami Beach hospitality.

It’s set in a 1934-vintage Streamline Deco building, and its interiors pay homage to the era, along with a strain of warm, organic colonial-style design. The result is chic, but in a more approachable, welcoming way — no velvet rope here. The rooms have a handmade touch that was entirely missing from the old high-gloss Miami Beach boutique hotels, but they’re plenty plush all the same, with Revival linens and Le Labo bath products to set a decadent tone.

The restaurant, Layla, continues in a similar vein, serving seasonal Mediterranean fare in a soothingly stylish space overlooking the Collins Canal. Until then, there’s plenty to see and do in the surrounding neighborhood — you’re two blocks from the busy Collins Avenue, with its near-infinity of hotels, restaurants, bars, and shops.