For the best overall value, vibe and location, The Plymouth is a South Beach gem tucked inside a restored 1940s era Art Deco building a couple blocks from the beach with stylish rooms, a pretty courtyard swimming pool and a Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill.
Location 8/10
Situated on Collins Park on South Beach’s northern perimeter, The Plymouth hotel feels like a hidden gem just slightly removed from the beaten path. Across the street from The Bass museum and within walking distance of the W South Beach, 1 Hotel and Sweet Liberty cocktail bar, hotel guests will enjoy a more sophisticated and subdued side of South Beach.
Design 8/10
Under the guidance of New York City-based interior designer Fernando Santangelo (who also conceived Los Angeles’s Chateau Marmont and the now shuttered Raleigh in South Beach), The Plymouth has an intimate, clubhouse appeal with an oval-shaped lobby outfitted in rich jewel tones and an original Art Deco mural restored by artist Roman Chatov. A surprisingly sophisticated indoor bamboo bar opens up to a courtyard pool with a playful black and white checkered tile deck and cushy lounge chairs in sun-bleached coral. Santangelo explains that while the vibe is “definitely tropical, [it’s] more South of France than South Florida.”
Amenities & Hospitality 8/10
Hospitality is friendly, professional and capable. In addition to the swimming pool, the hotel also offers beach service.
Rooms 8/10
The Plymouth’s 110 rooms are outfitted with beds with tall, tufted headboards upholstered in pale pink, cream or slate grey. Whitewashed hardwood floors and heather walls act as a backdrop to furnishings, which are soft and traditional, like chocolate leather club chairs and hardwood desks and nightstands. There are a variety of floor plans: many rooms are spacious with oversized bathrooms; some have French clawfoot bathtubs at the foot of the bed for an unexpected and playful touch.
“I am sitting in a high-ceilinged room in the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Honolulu watching the long translucent curtains billow in the trade wind and trying to put my life back together.”
Joan Didion, “In the Islands,” 1969
Food & Beverage 8/10
Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill, located just off the lobby, is famed for both its fried chicken and super fresh sushi and omakase experience, plus there’s a great daily happy hour at the bar. The sleek dining room boasts hardwood floors and tabletops with mellow blue and red upholstered banquettes, as well as an outdoor patio.
For breakfast, next door Seasons Café (owned by the same hospitality group as the hotel) offers a variety of made-to-order and grab-and-go options, like breakfast sandwiches, or you can make your way down the block to Joe & the Juice.
Value 9/10
Current rates from about $338. Book.
The Bottom Line
I recommend The Plymouth more than any other hotel on the beach for a quintessential and stylish South Beach vacation without breaking the bank.
Contact
336 21st Street, Miami Beach; 305-602-5000; theplymouth.com
