If you can afford to stay here, do. The location, at the tip of Brickell Key in Biscayne Bay, is superb. Rooms facing west overlook the downtown skyline; to the east are Miami Beach and the blue Atlantic. There's also beauty in the details: sliding screens that close off the baths, dark wood, crisp linens, and room numbers hand-painted on rice paper at check-in. The Azul restaurant, with an eye-catching waterfall and private dining area at the end of a catwalk, serves a mix of Asian, Latin, Caribbean, and French cuisine. The hotel has a 20,000-square-foot private beach and an on-site spa. Pros: only beach (man-made) in downtown; intimate feeling; top luxury hotel. Cons: small pool; few beach cabanas.
Reviewed by hjudd from La Jolla - San Diego, California on 11/16/06
Beautiful room. Great dinner in Aqua. Tops the local Ritz-Carltons in Miami.
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