Winter Haven Hotel

This is the hotel we stayed at for the week. I would recommend this hotel, as it is conveniently located, and the price includes breakfast as well as snacks (peanut butter crackers, fresh fruit, fresh popcorn, water and lemonade), which is great for when you get back from the beach.

The lobby is a great example of the art deco style, as you can tell from the curves in the stairway and balcony, as well as the details in the railings.

Architecture of South Beach

This 1st pic is of the building that most people have heard of or know of because of the murder that happened in front of it. This is the Versace Mansion, which is now a bed & breakfast with per night rates of $1,000 to $5,000.

The pic below was taken from the beach as a storm was rolling in from the west. I love the high contrast between the sunlit building and the storm clouds.

This building is located on Lincoln Road, where there is a pedestrian mall with many restaurants and stores.

The buildings below front the beach starting from 15th Street, and moving to the north. Although they are not styled in an Art Deco architecture, they do use the bright contrasting color schemes.

The Marlin is a classic Art Deco building and was the first building we visited on the Art Deco tour. 

Architecture of South Beach 2

This is the public restroom on 14th Street. This building has been used in many movies and TV shows.

The building below is The Carlyle. This is the building used in exterior shots in the movie The Birdcage.

The old city hall is located on Washington, and is now empty, after being fully remodeled.

The Clevelander was in the process of finishing up its remodel, and was set to open the Saturday we were leaving.

Below is a pic of the Colony Hotel, as it looks during the day, you'll see later how great it looks at night.

The Victor

On Thursday evening I took a guided Art Deco tour that covered a few blocks in the Ocean Drive to Washington area of SoBe. This lobby has been fully restored and a new main lobby added to the rear of the original. The first pic shows the outside patio, the remaining pics below showcase the inside. Note that the large blue circle sculpture represents the ocean. The wall sconces in the new lobby were made to resemple jelly fish.

Alive at Night

Below is the first set of night pictures taken mostly along Ocean Drive. The 3rd picture below is of the Versace Mansion.

Alive at Night 2

I love how deep blue the sky is in the 1st pic below, and the bright green lights on the lower right. The Tides was one of the newer hotels, it had an exclusive restaurant on it's expansive front deck area. The bright green lights of the Pelican are enhanced as a storm had just rolled through not an hour before, so there was still some humidity in the air. The last pic in this post is of the old city hall on Washington.

Alive at Night 3

This next set includes the famous Colony Hotel, which is one of the most photographed buildings in SoBe. The Ocean Plaza building is actually part of the Hilton Grand Vacations time share. There's also a few hotels that have a classic car parked in front 24/7, these include Park Central, Avalon and Casablanca. The shot of the Avalon took forever to setup just right, so that it included the classic car, the Corvette, and a car's headlamps lighting up the classic. The Hotel Victor has the amazing lobby and front deck.

14th Street Lifeguard Shack

This was the lifeguard shack that was closest to our hotel. Many mornings, this is the one I used to include as a reference in my sunrise pics. It was a very straightforward design, and color scheme.