When it involves huge, bustling cities, there’s a candy spot: shut however not too near the hustle. At the quiet finish of Miami’s Ocean Drive, family-owned The Betsy Hotel – South Beach strikes that the majority satisfying stability between power and serenity whereas piling on proximity to the cool blue Atlantic and excessive fashion. Take the plunge with us as we parse out the boutique property’s many charms.
ON-ASSIGNMENT PHOTOS COURTESY OF TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER @JESSICASAMPLE
THE OCEAN BECKONS
They don’t name it Ocean Drive for nothing. All that separates The Betsy from the seashore is a couple of flip-flopped footsteps throughout the street and Lummus Park garden—there’s no worrying about site visitors both as the patch of pavement out entrance is utterly car-free. Once toes are in the sand, there may be Betsy service with blue and white umbrellas, lounge chairs and towels. Gourmet picnics to take alongside may also be organized.
To merely see and listen to the ocean requires even much less effort with the resort’s Rooftop Pool, Rooftop Deck and Skyline Deck all offering a chicken’s-eye view of it. Select rooms, such because the Royal Ocean View Suite, present a non-public slice of it to get up to. But the seashore isn’t its solely neighbor. The Art Deco District is throughout, with all of the nightlife and people-watching of peek Ocean Drive to the south and cultural establishments, resembling The New World Symphony, The Bass Museum of Art and Miami City Ballet, a brief stroll away to the north, providing visitors the perfect form of center floor. Even if 24 hours is all one has within the Magic City, the resort is aware of the way to spend them correctly.
AT ONCE DESIGN FORWARD AND HISTORICAL
With its window shutters and four-column portico, the resort’s circa-1942 construction by L. Murray Dixon stands out as the one surviving instance of Florida Georgian structure on the Drive, and with a 2017 enlargement connecting it by a sculptural sky bridge to the previous Carlton Hotel, it added Art Deco to the combo.
Whichever wing one chooses, the interiors by Italian designers Diamante Pedersoli and Carmelina Santoro are daring but timeless with hanging patterns and pops of colour juxtaposing basic silhouettes and calming neutrals, together with grand tropical greenery lending much more joie de vivre. Tucked away and tranquil, the resort’s second Courtyard Pool feels particularly stylish and retro.
The place is dog-forward too; as their resident golden retriever greeters Betsy and Rosa affirm, four-legged pals are very welcome right here and can even get a curated therapeutic massage at The Betsy’s Spa associate with their particular person.
A HAVEN FOR THE ARTS
The cultural cachet of The Betsy goes past its locale and façade. The resort’s co-owner Jonathan Plutzik, in honor of his three-time poetry Pulitzer Prize finalist father Hyam Plutzik, established The Writer’s Room and residency that has hosted greater than 1,000 writers and creatives to this point.
Photos courtesy of The Betsy and Robin Hill, used with permission
In addition to the resort’s everlasting public artwork assortment which incorporates The Betsy Poetry Rail and The Betsy ORB, co-owner Lesley Goldwasser curates visible artwork reveals from rising and established artists on-property, with personal docent excursions obtainable. As the solar units, the music rises, with stay jazz within the foyer and chamber music performances within the library. That library, as anticipated, has a bounty of books to learn at any time of day, and each room consists of its personal mini model too.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Miami has no scarcity of savory and celebrated locations to eat, as our Miami Destination Guide attests too, and The Betsy dishes out its very personal institutions to make the seek for tasty sustenance easy. Along with their French, Asian and Latin American fusion flagship LT Steak and Seafood by Chef Laurent Tourondel, there’s the Lobby Bar for excellent cocktails and stay jazz; the Carlton Room Café for espresso and pastries when the morning requires a touch of remote-work; and walk-up La Ventanita for grabbing do-it-yourself gelato and pizza by the slice to go. Now, to go out in town or chill and keep awhile? That is the query that The Betsy’s concierge group will reply with an unequivocal “both.”
