Amenity highlights: The hotel caters to both business travelers and vacationers, putting a premium on service from the moment guests enter the cathedral-like lobby, with its towering palms and view of the courtyard waterfall. Guests exercise in the 5,000-square-foot fitness center and take classes such as yoga and Pilates, or swim in the small outdoor pool. The boutique spa offers a menu of massages and signature body and facial treatments. For meetings and events, the hotel has 30,000 square feet of function space.

Insider tip: The hotel is located 2 blocks from CocoWalk, an indoor-outdoor shopping, dining, and entertainment center in the heart of Coconut Grove. CocoWalk is built around an open courtyard full of vendors' carts and has several outdoor cafés, a multiplex, sidewalk entertainers, and 30 stores and restaurants. It's a lively destination well into the night.

Amenity highlights: Two freeform outdoor pools with cascading waterfalls, and two spa tubs set in a tropical garden, are available to guests. An aqua-sports center, located on the resort's private white-sand beach, supplies wave runners, Hobie cats, paddleboats, and volleyballs (surcharges for all equipment).

Insider tip: For guests visiting the area for the first time, a city tour of Miami gives a great overview of the color and personality of this diverse metropolis. Bus and motor coach tours of Miami and Bayside include the Port of Miami, Little Havana and Calle Ocho, South Beach's Art Deco District, Coconut Grove, Key Biscayne, the International Tennis Center, Brickell Avenue, and Coral Gables.

Amenity highlights: A sundeck with lounge chairs surrounds the outdoor lap pool and spa tub. A 24-hour fitness center has circuit machines, weights, and personal trainers (surcharge). Spa services are also available (surcharge).

Insider tip: Around the corner from the hotel, Bal Harbour Shops has 100 stores rivaling those of Rodeo Drive and Madison Avenue, including Gucci, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Cartier, Tiffany & Co., Saks Fifth Avenue, and Neiman Marcus.

Amenity highlights: The hotel's 23,000-square-foot outdoor pool is flanked by cabanas in a landscaped courtyard. An l8-hole, par-71 championship course designed by Donald Ross and the John Pallot Golf Academy are adjacent to the hotel. Guests can play tennis on 10 lighted courts, and a fitness center includes free weights, Cybex machines, and a wide range of classes (surcharge). Massages, facials, aromatherapy, and body wraps are available at the hotel's spa (surcharge).

Insider tip: The Biltmore has a fascinating history from its heyday in the 1920s, through the war years, and on to today. Every Sunday afternoon, complimentary, hour-long tours of the hotel and grounds are offered by the Dade Heritage Trust. Tours depart from the hotel's concierge desk. Ghost stories are told fireside every Thursday evening in the hotel lobby.

Amenity highlights: The hotel is located in the center of South Beach activity and is directly across the street from the ocean. Guests enjoy two complimentary chairs and one beach umbrella per room, per day.

Insider tip: A beach area below Second Street draws a trendy multicultural local crowd. Topless bathing is permitted there.

• This golf resort sits on 500 acres in the planned community of Miami Lakes, 10 miles northeast of downtown Miami.
• Guestrooms are designed for extended stays with microwaves, compact refrigerators, and high-speed Internet access.
• The resort offers a tree-lined 18-hole championship course dotted with native Florida fauna, a par-3 course, and a day spa.

Amenity highlights: The resort is home to 90 holes of PGA golf and the Jim McLean Golf School. The Arthur Ashe Tennis Center offers pro instruction on 11 courts. One hundred treatments are available in the Doral Spa, including massage, wraps, facials, and beauty services. Camp Doral provides supervised children's activities. The Blue Lagoon, an outdoor water complex, has four outdoor splash pools, a children's pool, a waterfall, and an 150-foot water slide.

Insider tip: This resort has been home to the PGA championship tour for 40 years, and some of the world's most famous golfers play at the resort. Guests can grab a chair on the outdoor patio overlooking the greens and watch. Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods have been known to pass by, and Hollywood stars like John Travolta can sometimes be spotted.

Amenity highlights: The Spa at Ocean Point offers a variety of services (surcharge), including yoga, sunrise tai-chi, reflexology, aromatherapy, herbal wraps, facials, and Swedish, Shiatsu, and tiki-torch massages. Treadmills, Cybex weight machines, stair machines, stationary bikes, personal trainers, a steam room, and a sauna are available in the fitness center. Overlooking the ocean is a zero-entry outdoor pool with a 25-foot waterfall and two spa tubs.

Insider tip: A great way to glimpse a microcosm of Florida is on a Jungle Queen dinner cruise, departing from Fort Lauderdale, 18 miles from the resort. Cruises survey the multimillion-dollar waterfront homes on Millionaire's Row, alligator wrestling, and rare birds. Resort staff will help arrange for reservations and tickets.

Amenity highlights: The oceanfront resort provides lounge chairs, cabanas, umbrellas, and assorted water toys (surcharge). Child-friendly amenities include an octopus-themed water park with a 260-foot slide and a children's recreation program (surcharge). A sundeck surrounds a half-acre lagoon pool with grotto and waterfalls.

Insider tip: Miami Beach is also known as millionaires' row. Guests can see how the rich and famous live with a 90-minute tour that starts on land, goes through South Beach, the Art Deco District, and downtown Miami, then splashes into Biscayne Bay for a boat ride past opulent Miami waterfront homes. The resort's concierge will assist guests in arranging tours.

Amenity highlights: Outdoor activities abound: The hotel has a 3,000-square-foot outdoor geometric pool with large sundeck and spa tub, and a nearby fitness room with adjacent his-and-hers saunas. A lighted basketball court and tennis courts are located on the garage rooftop. A half-mile jogging path runs along the edge of the Blue Lagoon.

Insider tip: Keep an eye out for wildlife: Four parrots offer a colorful welcome at the front door. Koi fish swim under the walkway to the Coral Café. Aquariums dot the restaurant areas. Out back, there's a walkway on a spit of land leading to a gazebo overlooking the lagoon. This bit of land harbors birds, lizards, and other creatures. Rather shop? The concierge can call a courtesy shuttle bus from the Dolphin Mall.

Amenity highlights: The three-story hotel has a popular lobby bar and a lower-level restaurant (The Metro Kitchen and Bar) that serves modern American cuisine for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The restaurant looks out on a dining patio with tropical gardens and a waterfall wall.

Insider tip: The hotel was originally built in 1936 and retains many original architectural features in the lobby. In fact, the hotel is one of the stops on the neighborhood's Art Deco tour. Of special note is a wall panel next to the check-in counter made of Vitrolite, a special type of pigmented structural glass. A plaque on the wall relates the important details.