Carlton Hotel is located in the city of Miami, which is a crossroads, a magnet for northerners seeking the sun and southerners seeking the sunnier side of life. Sometimes the mix is magic; sometimes it's oil and water. Despite the risk, travelers still visit from far-flung points for the sheer experience of it --the color, the excitement and the opulence of the first world buoyed by the tropical ambience of the third, Although visitors will find the standard white sand and blue surf, it’s the unique neighborhoods and communities in the Magic City that leave you talking about your trip for years to come, then planning a return engagement just to experience it all again.

Miami Beach
Both the sun and the moon shine brightly today over the playground called Miami Beach. The round-the-clock excitement is reflected on the covers of national and international glamour and travel magazines where the trendy South Beach district -- or SoBe -- is displayed like a model newly emerged from a makeover. Not far from the truth… It's the revitalizing of this area's definitive art deco architecture that has put Miami Beach on the map.

Encompassing 17 islands in Biscayne Bay, Miami Beach has enchanted visitors with its incomparable beaches and social scene since the 1920’s. It was during the boom time of the ‘20’s and ‘30’s that the scores of small art deco hotels were built to accommodate pleasure-loving hordes from colder climates. Beginning in the late 1950’s these modest tourist digs gave way to grand resort complexes (like the fabulous Fontainebleau). It is in SoBe’s Art Deco District where today's action is -- from Ocean Drive's magnetic stretch of restaurants, clubs and lovingly renovated art deco hotels to the trendy shops, restaurants and cafes on Washington Avenue, to the cultural nexus taking shape on Lincoln Road. Art Deco Weekend (January 16-18, 2004) is the big beach blowout, but there's almost always something special going on.

Today, the art deco-fueled renewal is certainly packing them in, but it's a diversity of attractions that keeps the crowds happy. Of course there are the fabulous beaches, and all the recreation that goes along with them, but, increasingly, there are also world-class cultural draws, such as the New World Symphony (305-673-3331), Miami City Ballet (305-929-7000), the Art Center South Florida (305-674-8278), and a visible community of dancers, actors, artists and designers.

This cultural side of South Beach is a prominent part of what Lincoln Road has to offer. Once one of the most elegant shopping streets in the country, Lincoln Road was redesigned in the 1960’s by legendary architect Morris Lapidus as America's first pedestrian mall. Now it is envisioned as the center of the new Miami Beach -- a kind of link between South Beach and the mainline attractions, such as the Miami Beach Convention Center (305-673-7311), the Jackie Gleason Theater of the Performing Arts (305-673-7300) and the Bass Museum of Art (305-673-7530) among others.