Pool @ Cabana One

Cabana One @ Mayfair Hotel

 

CABANA ONE @ MAYFAIR HOTEL AND SPA
3000 Florida Ave., Miami; 305-448-5088

In true Coconut Grove fashion, this pool is welcoming and laidback without sacrificing style. Just walk over to the Backyard resort poolfront desk of the Mayfair and ask for a key to Cabana One like you own the place; no financial damage done and you didn't even have to make up a room number.

The rooftop deck, built in October, provides a handsome view of Biscayne Bay and downtown Miami. The 50-foot pool is opposite eight private cabanas with flat screen TVs and quick, attentive staff to handle all your poolside needs. The bar is simple and appreciates its regulars: “Our main business is our locals,” bartender Chris Bruce says. At its Sunday pool parties, a DJ starts spinning around 9:30 p.m., and the bar offers $25 mojito pitchers ($40 the rest of the week). On Thursday nights, a Rooftop Royalty party brings out a lot of students in search of deals ($20 for all you can drink from 10 p.m. to 12 a.m.) Pool parties run until 3 a.m. Meals from Angelo and Maxie's Steakhouse downstairs are available. A full plate of fried calamari ($11), chicken fingers and Cobb salads make for good poolside eats until 11 p.m.

Nantucket resident Janine Franceschi was hanging out with her 2-year-old Irish setter, Beau, in one of the comfy cabanas while updating her blog on her laptop. Franceschi runs a website that features luxury pet-friendly resorts. The Mayfair allows her to take Beau just about anywhere, she says. General Manager Ian Chester is all about the open door policy, fur or no:”îWe really want everybody up here all of the time.”

-- KYLE TEAL