I spent hours combing threads here trying to decide where to stay during a two-day visit to South Beach. We are not typical Miami Beach types, no interest in night life, just kind of passing through on a driving trip around Florida.
But we do like our creature comforts, so finding the right hotel was important to me. We ended up settling on the Ritz-Carlton South Beach (a friend who grew up in Miami and absolutely hates the place said it is the only hotel he would consider staying at if he were forced to return) and LOVED it! It looked a little odd on the approach - the exterior architecture does not quite scream "luxury hotel" but once inside it was quite lovely.
I had booked an oceanfront room through Amex Platinum, but I guess because we were there in the early June shoulder season with some less than ideal weather, we were upgraded to a beautiful penthouse suite. Photos are posted on my trip report at
http://polloplayer.wordpress.com/201...beach-sojourn/
I had also considered the newly renovated Fountainebleau at North Beach and wanted to visit there to check it out, but we ran out of time, so I cannot compare the two. There are scads of hotels in South Beach and a number of them looked nice, but the location of the Ritz-Carlton and the genuinely hospitable service we enjoyed there definitely give it an edge imho. Great poolside brunch also, btw.
We stayed in three R-C's during this trip; Sarasota, Naples and South Beach. Each was distinctly different. South Beach was far and away the best value, given the upgrade. ^