January 26, 2006 at 06:48am by Gus

Miami Beach Hotel Strip

In the land of hotel strips, the Miami Beach hotel strip rules over that other hotel strip in Las Vegas. I’m not saying our hotels are better. Vegas hotels can offer services that Miami Beach hotels can not. They are bigger. We are limited by the lack of square feet. But here is why our hotel strip rules—most Miami Beach hotels are oceanfront. Vegas hotels usually border a parking garage. I would much rather open my hotel window and feel an ocean breeze. In Vegas, when you open your hotel window, you just want to close it and go downstairs to gamble.

Okay, enough Vegas bashing. The purpose of this article is for you to better understand hotels here in Miami Beach. Our hotel strip is 4 miles (6.50 km) long and is divided into three sections:

Hotels on Ocean Drive

Almost all of the hotels on Ocean Drive are located on the west side of the street. On the east side of Ocean Drive is Lummus Park, along with a 48-block (paved and wooden) boardwalk. Although these hotels are not oceanfront, they do have an unobstructed view of the park and sand dunes that lead up to the beach.

The Ocean Drive hotel section starts at 5th Street with the Wave and continues north 9-blocks up to the Betsy Ross.

It takes about 15 minutes to walk from one end to the other. If you do, some noteworthy hotels you pass include: Avalon, Clevelander, Colony, and Gloria Estefan’s Cardozo. 

Hotels on Collins Avenue

Collins Avenue is the main area of the hotel strip.  Here you will find small boutique hotels located in restored art deco buildings and large oceanfront resorts. This section starts at 8th Street with Shelly and continues north up Collins Avenue 54-blocks to the Alexander.

With light traffic, it will take about 15 minutes to drive from one end to the other.  I say light traffic beacuse during a busy weekend, it can take you an hour.

Some of the classic Art Deco boutique hotels include: Nash, Whitelaw, and Sherbrooke, which is the birthplace of MiamiBeach411. I lived at the Sherbrooke when I started this site.

Miami Beach Oceanfront Hotels

When you think of oceanfront hotels in Miami Beach names like Delano and Fontainebleau come to mind. These are both landmark resorts. The pool at Fontainebleau is where they filmed the movie “Scarface”. And visiting Rose Bar, or the pool at the Delano is a must for everyone.

You can find 21 more oceanfront hotels in MiamiBeach411. Michelle asked me to mention Surfcomber, National, and Royal Palm for their customer service, and her favorite hotel South Seas.

Although oceanfront hotels are more expensive, they are usually resort-quality and offer a full package of amenities that the smaller hotels don’t have. NOTE: Resort hotels will often add a $10 per day resort fee.

This covers the Miami Beach hotel strip. Hope it answers some questions for you. Feel free to comment or write a review.

Gus Moore heads up Miami Beach 411 as site administrator, where he has been helping people understand how Miami works for over a decade. See more articles by Gus >

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5 Responses to "Miami Beach Hotel Strip"

1. Gus says:

   “Almost all of the hotels on Ocean Drive are located on the west side of the street.”

   I can think of two hotels that are on the east side of Ocean Drive. The Savoy and Bentley Beach. Both are oceanfront and located south of 5th. Am I missing anyone?

   Posted on 01/27 at 7:46 AM
2. Mark Hasley says:

   I would like to stand up and defend The Tudor Hotel. Yes it is a 2 star and yes it is in despetrate need of a makeover and I understand all the bad reviews it receives. That’s all obvious; however, people seem to forget that they’re so cheap, they forget the expression, ‘you get what you pay for!’ Now I was forced to stay there because I alreday boold the flight and our original section of a hotel, Ocean 5, was booked. Actually, all hotels were booked but the Tudor. You know what, the Tudor served its purpose. I didn’t spend enough time in the room to notice anything about it. The bathroom wasn’t the best but again, ‘you get what you pay for’. Looking at the glass half full, the hotel is in a great location. Steps away from anything abd everything you want. From the beavh in the morning to Licoln Road in the afternoon to all the clubs at night and all the restaurants you want in between. Also, the restaurant served excellent meals. At that restaurant and any other restaurant, we received first class service. Had a problem with one of the front desk girls but I’m not going to let some girl with issues stop my enjoyment of South Beach. If you want to direct your money more into things like partying, food and shopping, the Tudor is an economical choice. Wouldn’t be my first pic but I wouldn’t count it out either!

   Posted on 04/28 at 5:46 PM
3. Allan says:

   Collins Ave. - This place is a dump. BEWARE!!!!

   Posted on 09/03 at 3:32 PM
4. Myrtle Beach says:

   I love Miami there is more enjoy.
   Allan I think you have to go there.

   Posted on 02/29 at 9:56 PM
5. miami hotels says:

   There is no need to compare Miami to Vegas if you ask me- these are two different types of vacations and tourists. I’ve been to Miami a few times but never to Vegas - and Non the less I would like to go ! Because Vegas has its own feel tho things- and so dose Miami. I suppose Miami would be a bit more quiet and peaceful DO you think I can find any of those Miami hotels on Last Minute travel? I love using their site- cause its so simple:) I guess if not I can always just search them online.

   Posted on 10/11 at 1:43 PM

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