Pool @ The Standard

THE STANDARD
40 Island Ave., Miami Beach; 305-673-1717

The well-balanced energy from this spa and hotel experience should help you get centered for $50 a day from Friday to Sunday, or $40 on a weekday. The day pass - good from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day but Friday, when it's good till midnight - includes access to the soothing pool, waterfall hot tub, a spacious, coed Turkish bath, a traditional
steam room, sauna, public showers with music, an exercise room and a free yoga class. The crowd is hip and enlightened, but not kid-friendly (no one under 14 is allowed in the pool area, according to a posted sign). The menu is packed with food that complements the yoga crowd: marinated tofu, hummus, tomato and falafel salads, and tzatziki (a yogurt dish – I think). Despite the healthy grub, the most popular item on the menu is the mini-burgers and fries. The bar sells delicious cocktails like pomegranate margaritas and new frozen cocktail popsicles (poolside “LIQ-bars'') in strawberry daiquiri and margarita flavors for $7.

A tribal statue stands in the center of a tranquil meditation garden, and a fire pit arranged with huge wicker chairs looks like the sort of place where meetings are held, and someone is voted off the island. The resort is a surprisingly serene oasis to the crazed bustle of Lincoln Road, only a short walk away.

-- KYLE TEAL

Kerri Whitaker and Jana Woolley sun themselves poolside at the Standard hotel pool. Photo: Patrick Farrell.