Mayfair House Hotel & Garden offers a different perspective on a familiar destination. It’s set neither in glitzy Miami Beach nor in a Downtown Miami skyscraper but in Coconut Grove, the upscale village-like arts and entertainment district along the coast a few minutes to the southwest of downtown. The original Mayfair is an uncommonly stylish 1980s icon by architect Kenneth Treister, and it’s been reverently updated by Goodrich NYC into the hotel you see today: the Mayfair House Hotel & Garden.

From a distance what you notice is the tower, forty curvaceous stories of aquamarine glass right on the beach, home to the private owners’ suites as well as some of the more excessive hotel suites; like the sky, it’s hard to say whether the tower’s color is a reflection of the sea or some intrinsic property. Art Deco the exterior may be, but the Setai’s interiors are anything but classic Miami. Forget about white, let alone coral-pink; think dark, as in black brick and black granite.

Alan Faena doesn’t do things halfway. The pioneering Argentinian hotelier didn’t just open a hotel in Buenos Aires — he transformed a piece of abandoned waterfront real estate into a glamorous urban destination, turning a once-derelict neighborhood into a thriving arts district. And now he’s brought the Faena brand to Miami Beach. The Faena District occupies an eight-block stretch of prime oceanfront real estate.

Just a few miles up the road from Miami Beach proper, in the upscale enclave of Surfside, is the legendary Surf Club, an ornate Jazz Age gem whose doors first opened in 1930. Today the original club remains, augmented by modern structures containing residences and the Four Seasons Hotel — a typically luxe and uncommonly stylish luxury hotel, complete with beachside cabanas and a lavish spa, from the venerable hospitality brand. The atmosphere is insular, more luxe hideaway than social nexus.

For travelers of certain tastes, the big, established Miami Beach boutique hotels, with their see-and-be-seen atmosphere, can sometimes feel a bit much. Just one block from the Collins Avenue hotel strip, hiding in plain sight at Washington Avenue and Española Way, is something a bit subtler: Esmé Miami Beach is a Spanish-Mediterranean gem whose bohemian-luxe interiors establish a warm and slightly retro mood — one that’s got nothing to do, for once, with mid-century modernism.

In Miami the flash hotels arms race has escalated to a point where a hotel like the Betsy — South Beach is almost shocking in its restraint. We’re almost tempted to call it conservative, but with a disclaimer: the Betsy’s pre-deco style means it’s got a personality all its own, and can’t help but stand out from the poolside fashion shoots and celebrity-thronged nightclubs of its more attention-starved neighbors. This was pretty much the last Georgian-style hotel to be built on Ocean Drive.

The C in Mr. C stands for Cipriani, the famous family of restaurateurs. To their restaurant in Downtown Miami you can add Mr. C Miami – Coconut Grove, on Biscayne Bay just to the south of the city proper. It’s a ground-up, purpose-built hotel, and designers Arquitectonica didn’t let that blank canvas go to waste. The building is strikingly contemporary, with a distinct nautical inspiration. And the interiors continue in a similar vein, though with a touch more classic warmth. It’s a unique look.

Originally built in 1921 as a neoclassical furniture showroom, The Moore has long been part of Miami’s design DNA. Reimagined as a boutique hotel with serious creative pedigree, its 13 suites play with texture and tone: plaster walls, curved wood, clay and rattan. Below, a Zaha Hadid installation anchors the atrium, while art galleries, concept dining, and a private club animate the rest of the building. It is a discreet, design-forward stay in one of Miami’s most dynamic neighborhoods.

The historic 1930s Art Deco façade of the Hotel Greystone looks brand new — and after a vast renovation, what’s inside looks more or less like the last word in contemporary South Beach boutique luxury. The location, right on Collins Avenue, is just about as central as it gets, but the Greystone’s interiors offer immediate relief from the bustle outside; in the lobby, soothing cream tones dominate, accented by living greenery and subtle Deco reverberations.

There was a time when the eco-friendly ethos and recycled/reclaimed décor on display at 1 Hotels South Beach would have been a tough sell in ultra-decadent Miami. But as jetsetters increasingly trade conspicuous consumption for conscious consumption, hedonism has taken a wholesome, almost virtuous turn. All of which is to say: the 1 Hotels approach suits modern Miami Beach just fine. The salvage aesthetic adapts to Miami’s situation, of course.