South Beach is located at the southernmost tip of Miami Beach. It’s home to the area’s gay community and where you’ll find most of the key tourist venues.

The saying "everything old is new again" definitely applies to South Beach. Decades ago the area was a glittering stretch of luxury hotels and fancy nightclubs. After a steady and steep decline, it became a sleepy bedroom community for poor retirees. In recent years, South Beach has once again undergone a huge renaissance. Buildings that once sat empty have been renovated at a dizzying pace, including all sorts of chic Art Deco hotels.

As a gay resort, South Beach is high-energy and high fashion. More trendy and party oriented than its sister resorts: tropical Key West and laidback Ft. Lauderdale. It attracts a fast-lane crowd, including plane loads of New Yorkers who commute down on winter weekends. The club scene is hot, and the beach scene is even hotter with muscle and bikinis (and sometimes both together) on parade.

The center of all the action in South Beach is the Art Deco District: a square-mile with 100s of beautifully renovated hotels, outdoor restaurants, bars and cafes and a view of the kaleidoscope of life driving, blading and walking by till the wee hours of the morning. For the highest concentration of gay locals, head to Lincoln Road.

ACCOMMODATIONS
South Beach offers a full range of lodging options, from freaky to fabulous, and everything in between. There are choices for all budgets that deliver real value for the dollar, and enough variety of styles to suit all types of travelers.

For gay and lesbian travelers, South Beach is unique. Nowhere else is the hotel industry so tuned into, and dependent upon, the gay market. The heavy presence of fashion and music industry types has also shaped the market, with a focus on fun and whimsy, and a casual dress code.

For sun and muscle worshippers, the perfect address is close to 12th Street (home of the gay beach), but the city has more charm near Lincoln Road.

If you’re looking for the classic Deco environment, The Hotel Astor is your choice. It’s sophisticated, casual and elegant. Casa Grande (www.casagrandehotel.com), a European-style inn with Balinese furnishings, is a calm oasis among its flashier neighbors.

the hotel is a supremely stylish choice. You’ll find a popular rooftop pool and Spire Bar offering an exquisite view of the beach.