And if there was room at the inn, prices had increased extortionately…Where should we stay? Well I reverted to my usual solution and asked twitter. Another luxury travel fan suggested The Betsy, I knew of it from my days of working at Mr & Mrs Smith. I did my usual cross referencing on various travel websites and decided it was all systems go to stay at The Betsy for our final three days in Miami.
The Betsy is cute, vintage style boutique hotel at the quieter end of ocean drive, though still in easy reach of the main strip of hotels and restaurants.
Unlike it’s Art Deco neighbours, The Betsy’s front porch and shuttered windows evoke a colonial style.
The hotel is pretty small with only 61 rooms, and the quaint vintage look is totally different to the glamour of The Setai, but actually very charming.
While I totally I loved The Setai, the feeling of being in Thailand slightly defies the point of being in Miami. The Betsy by contrast is a historical landmark hotel, being the only surviving example of Floridian Architecture left on Ocean drive.
The Lobby Bar was also great relaxed area to get a glass of my favourite champagne.
I have to say, the pool is a little disappointing, as it’s fairly small and shaded without it’s own bar.
As you can see The Betsy is not the place to stay if you’re looking for crazy, celeb-filled / champagne fuelled pool parties!
But you can find your sunshine in the private beach area across the road.
Our better yet… the rooftop deck which had it’s own bar…
And a gorgeous view…
The Roof Deck also had it’s own Wellness Garden in the tranquil warmth of the Miami sun.
The Hotel has one restaurant, BLT Steak, A modern American steakhouse by Laurent Tourundel. The Restaurant not only features a huge selection of quality steaks, there was also, to my delight, a Raw and Sushi Bar.
We decided to check it out for lunch one day.
The restaurant’s signature Guyere popovers probably contained about 5 million calories but were totally addictive.
We got our little sushi fix.
Mr S got his burger…
With some perfectly charred asparagus.
We also really enjoyed our daily breakfast at BLT Steak which was from a selection on the a la carte menu.
The service at The Betsy was really lovely and the staff all very kind and accommodating. When we arrived we were greeted with a glass of prosecco which I thought was a really sweet touch. They also gave us this leather journal on our last day.
Which made a really gorgeous farewell gift.
But would I stay at Betsy again? I’ll be totally honest, it felt like a come down after The Setai but I still tried to judge it fairly. I personally, wouldn’t stay there again as I think part of coming to Miami is having a pool with atmosphere where you can meet people and enjoy cocktails. Mr S loves a good pool and for that reason I don’t think it was right for me. The room really was teeny tiny so I would suggest plumping for a bigger one if you can. However, there are several other hotels that I would have chosen but we really were very limited.
The Betsy is very cute…but for me, sadly it’s not the full package.
Oooh…but I’d definitely come back for one of those popovers!!
If you’re interested in other hotels in Miami…watch this space as I’ll be posting a full round up of all the hotels that we visited.
