Hotel Casa Canita

Built as a 1930s Art Deco apartment house on Collins Avenue, Hotel Casa Canita keeps its original terrazzo floors and porthole windows behind a restored coral-stone facade. Sixteen rooms sit two blocks from the sand in Miami Beach's North Beach pocket, away from the Ocean Drive crowds.

A courtyard bar pours Cuban-inspired cocktails under the original banyan tree, and bikes are kept on hand for the flat ten-minute ride down to Lincoln Road. Normandy Isle's diners and bakeries lie within walking distance, making this a base for travelers wanting beach access without South Beach's nightlife noise.