The legendary hotelier Conrad Hilton made millions by sticking to his mantra of “location, location, location”. I’m neither legendary nor a millionaire, sadly, but when it comes to Miami I suggest you ignore Mr Hilton.
I’ve been to Florida’s fabulous city by the sea many times and visited its best beach addresses, from Gianni Versace’s quirky Casa Casuarina and the 1950s landmark the Fontainebleau to the stealth-wealth Four Seasons at the Surf Club, the brilliant Baz Lurhmann-designed Faena and the Asia-inspired A-list favourite the Setai.
The truth is that while those hotels are great, locals complain that their beachfront locations, where most of us holidaymakers base ourselves, are increasingly overpriced and that South Beach is becoming horribly tacky. And I did spot a worrying number of Bianca Censori-style bikinis and that so-called Aussie “classic”, the budgie-smuggler, in SoBe. I didn’t know where to look but I did know where to escape these crimes against fashion — because last summer I discovered the city’s ultimate luxury hotel bargain.
So now my tip is to bypass the beach. If you think that’s nuts, you’d be correct — that is, if you’re talking coconuts. Miami’s Coconut Grove neighbourhood is about a 20-minute cab ride from South Beach and is the easygoing bay-front bolt hole you should have on your radar for your next trip. This is where people who actually live in Miami spend their free time, grabbing a cup of cold-brew Joe for a Saturday morning wander through its farmers’ market (glaserorganicfarms.com), lunching at laid-back cafés such as the wickedly good Harry’s Pizzeria (pizzas from £12; harryspizzeria.com) and dividing nights between fancy dinners at restaurants such as the Michelin-starred Los Felix (set menu £47; losfelixmiami.com) and friendly dive bars such as Barracuda Taphouse (Instagram: @barracudagrove), where the beer and the jukebox keep things lively.
The Grove is Miami’s oldest continually inhabited neighbourhood, a boho backwater sprinkled with yesteryear charm courtesy of a refreshing number of family-run businesses and Gilded Age mansions shaded by sturdy oaks. It has been in and out of fashion since the Bahamians and Brits settled here in the late 1800s, including a notable high in the Nineties when Madonna lived here.
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After 20 years out of the spotlight it has emerged post-pandemic as a popular relocation destination for discriminating creatives fleeing New York. The Grove’s renaissance was confirmed when it was named as one of the coolest neighbourhoods in the world by Time Out. The icing on the cake came last year when the foodie bible Michelin published its first hotel guide. Only four properties in Miami achieved a coveted two-key rating, denoting an exceptional stay. All four properties are listed on Booking.com. Three are in Miami Beach and for a random day in March the room-only rates were from £1,068 for the Setai, from £1,095 for the Faena and from £2,949 for the Four Seasons at the Surf Club— predictably expensive. Then there’s the curveball: the Mayfair House Hotel & Garden in Coconut Grove, which has chic rooms, spacious enough for living areas and terraces, that are all yours from £423 a night, room only.
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I went to investigate and immediately warmed to the Mayfair (mayfairhousemiami.com). It’s an architectural beauty, with all the braggadocio I associate with South Beach, except this grande dame commands two entire blocks smack bang in the middle of the Grove. It was built in 1985 by Kenneth Treister as an ode to his hero, Antoni Gaudí. Consequently the Mayfair struts the sort of voluptuous curves for which the Spaniard’s Sagrada Familia is revered.
Walk through the ornate original wooden door and the Mayfair’s extraordinary lobby is in your face. It has a Kew Gardens’ worth of tropical plants draped across almost every inch of its creamy, carved stone walls as well as calming reflecting pools and smiling mixologists on starter’s orders behind the lobby bar’s counter, which is converted from the original elevator car. The WFFHs (working from fancy hotellers) don’t appear to be taking the “W” bit of their acronym too seriously and could almost pass for the holidaymakers. Mainly Americans, they are as chilled as their margaritas.
Later they’ll all gravitate to Sipsip, the rooftop pool and bar. It’s named after the Bahamian word for “gossip” in a nod to the Grove’s Caribbean heritage. A colourful mural by the Bahamian artist Angelika Wallace-Whitfield and potent rum-laced drinks reinforce a calypso vibe. I’m told the Friday night DJ sets regularly witness a string of Miami vices. In between the lobby and the rooftopare 179 individually designed and personality-packed rooms. Decorated in jewel tones, they have carved wooden headboards, freestanding bathtubs and some private walled gardens and outdoor showers, though none have views. Enthusiastic and efficient service comes from the top down. Rhys O’Connell, the debonair general manager, has worked for big names such as Nobu Hotels and Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica. He’s Australian but I doubt he owns any budgie-smugglers.
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It’s £25 each way in an Uber if you’re missing the beach but the Grove has persuasive reasons for you to stay put, including one of the city’s best days out, the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens (£20; vizcaya.org). In 1914 the Chicago industrialist James Deering set out to emulate the grandeur of Italy’s finest villas with this Venetian-style mansion, which is now a museum. He succeeded and his absorbing collection of Renaissance tapestries, rococo furniture and Roman sculptures has the added bonus of orchid-filled gardens, which make the perfect picnic spot.
The boardwalks of the Grove’s waterfront parks also make civilised alternatives to the sand for a vitamin D hit. A word of warning, though: the scene can get pretty wild in Peacock Park, literally. One of the quirky features of Coconut Grove is that about 1,500 peafowl roam freely in the neighbourhood. They’re not as intimidating as Rod Hull’s emu but they can be astonishingly noisy.
You can afford to go wild yourself — given you’ve saved on your accommodation — with some retail therapy. There are branches of the big names of course but also plenty of artisan options, from fashions at Guadalupe Design (guadalupedesign.com), to homeware at Moorish Ambiance (Instagram: @moorishambiance) and bikinis at Agua Bendita (int.aguabendita.com) handmade in rural Colombian communities — swimwear that will get you noticed for all the right reasons.
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Susan d’Arcy travelled as a guest of Virgin Atlantic, which has return fares between Heathrow and Miami from £439.
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