If, suddenly, you find a replica Italian piazza in the middle of Miami Beach central, you’ve found one of the more discreet boutiques in Miami, the Hotel Ocean. This unassuming inn on the Ocean Drive scene is especially notable for its awesome beach views and for its relatively affordable rack rates. Rooms are spacious and airy, with sleek furniture, dark wood or Cuban tile floors, and Italian marble bathrooms.

There’s not much room for snooty Miami attitude here (helped by the fact that there’s no real lobby in which to be seen), and the dining option is more fun and functional than hip. It’s best, then, for travellers who spend their daytime hours on the sand and their evenings under the pulsing strobes of upper-Collins nightspots.

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