Fisher Island Club Hotel & Resort

An exclusive private island, just south of Miami Beach but accessible only by ferry, Fisher Island houses an upscale residential community that includes a small inventory of overnight accommodations, including opulent cottages, villas, and junior suites, which surround the island's original 1920s-era Vanderbilt mansion. Hotel guests enjoy Fisher Island member privileges during their stay (note that Equity Club Members pay an initiation fee alone of $250,000). After the ferry crossing, you're welcomed at reception with Champagne. Considering you get a private house, a golf cart, and a private courtyard with a Jacuzzi, villas are idyllic for a memorable honeymoon or some other special occasion, if not a casual weekend. Families should choose one of three former guest cottages of the former Italianate mansion of William K. Vanderbilt, which forms the resort's centerpiece. Amenities include a 9-hole golf course, the Spa Internazionale (renovated in 2012), 18 lighted tennis courts (hard, grass, and clay), and 1 mile of very private (and very quiet) beach with white sand imported from the Bahamas. On island, there are seven restaurants for hotel guests, including the alfresco waterfront Beach Club, an Italian fine-dining restaurant called Porto Cervo, and the famous Garwood Lounge, which features nightly piano and seats just 34. Remarkably, this true exclusivity and seclusion is minutes from South Beach.