This article is part of FT Globetrotter’s guide to Miami
Walking into the lobby of The Standard Spa in Miami Beach feels like when, in Mad Men, Don Draper first encounters Los Angeles: the cold, jaded New Yorker enters a world of smooth lines, loose creamy knits, perfectly tanned bodies and blinding white teeth. The hotel also, somehow, feels like a sexy retirement home. People sit in rocking chairs as the afternoon sun cuts through the floor-to-ceiling windows. They wander, slowly but attractively, across the tile floor.
In I walked, haggard from my New York-Miami flight, in head-to-toe black denim. The receptionist looked at me warmly but slightly apologetically, and ushered me towards my room, where I showered, changed and re-emerged decidedly reframed. I dropped into the gift shop for sunscreen and considered buying a $200 bikini. I walked through the property’s lush gardens, full of bird of paradise flowers, palm trees and tall hedges (which hide secret seats, presumably to read, take Instagram selfies or make out). I snagged a waterside table at the restaurant, the Lido Bayside Grill, where I ordered an ice-cold green juice, fried fish tacos in lettuce wraps and then a cafecito, listening to light electrobeats as hot people rode past me on motorboats. Most of my local friends had recommended this place.
In two hours, I was converted. Miami, baby.
Originally the Monterrey Motel, this building was designed in 1953 by Norman Giller as a work of quintessential MiMo architecture. By 1960 it had become the Lido Spa Hotel, one of the first health resorts on Miami Beach. It was known as a progressive oasis, an early proponent of helio- and hydrotherapy, using sunlight and water to treat pain. By the 1980s, it was a popular hang-out for retirees — especially for, as the Miami New Times once described it, “hundreds of lovely Jewish ladies of a certain age” — but in 2002 it closed. The Standard bought it, renovated extensively and reopened it as the Standard Spa in 2006. Close to its 20th birthday, vestiges of its past remain everywhere. On the hotel’s facade, the massive, original baby-blue 1960s sign for the Lido Spa Hotel still greets you, with a small Standard logo beneath it. The hotel rooms are still motel rooms, but in a sexy summer-camp way.
Pool
The pool is the heart of The Standard Spa. Its role in Miami culture was confirmed on my visit by a clay diorama on display in the lobby. It’s called All Eyes on Deck and was made by local artists Shelby Sladen and Caroline Castro. “There’s only one place where sun, skin and sin come together,” a plaque reads, “and that’s The Standard Spa’s pool deck.” In it, a clay round-chested lady meditates in the pool and a mermaid suns on a lounge chair. There are tequila bottles and a lost bikini top floating in the water.
Twice, I lounged at the pool to experience the sun, skin and sin. Next to me, a topless woman sent her boyfriend to their room to nap and called a friend. I learnt he proposed to her the previous night, rose petals all over the bed, as well as a series of sinful details about what they did until 5am. Another woman walked past. “Finally,” they cried in camaraderie, “another person with their top off!” (The hotel is adults only. Women can be topless at the pool and in the spa.)
Across from me, an old couple with leathery tans chomped on nuts. At the entrance, two skinny hipsters with canvas totes looked for a chair; more dirty New Yorkers, I assumed, who hadn’t yet succumbed. Later, I passed the second topless woman on my way to the bathroom. She was reading The Artist’s Way.
A few weeks after visiting, I called Kevin O’Donnell, then the Standard Spa’s Director of Marketing and Culture. I told him about The Artist’s Way and the nuts. He laughed. He said the hotel doesn’t have a lot of rules, but “we have zero tolerance for a bad attitude. So people feel comfortable.” This Standard has a private membership programme, he continued, so it’s important they create an atmosphere where people can, for example, chat with a celebrity at the pool and intuitively know not to ask for a selfie.
Rooms
The Standard has a reputation for rooms that are often small and functional, serviceable but not luxe. This is also the case here. Interiors are pine-y and cosy, with great beds as always, a private front porch to lounge on, a nice walk-in wardrobe and a small but clean bathroom.
“We know our rooms need some love,” O’Donnell told me, and said they are considering renovating them in the coming years. But guests are also meant to leave them, he added. “We don’t want guests to come sit in their room and watch TV.” There is one suite, but no other best room in the house, which O’Donnell says creates a nice equalising effect. The celebrity next to you at the pool can’t pay their way to much better.
Spa and restaurants
The “Spa” in Standard Spa refers mostly to a cavernous, tiled, steamy hammam room that is free for hotel guests and which, when I visited, doubled as an excellent place to overhear strangers discuss their dating lives.
There are myriad options for massages, body treatments and facials, alongside sound healing, fitness and other classes, which range from “Family Constellations & Life Force Activation” to a tantric class called “Soulgasm” (a deal, I think, at $75). I had a standard 60-minute massage from a masseuse named Max, who was delightfully warm and avuncular; a welcome interaction after two days of straight scene. He gave me a solid massage and earnest, helpful advice on various ailments he noticed along the way.
For food, there’s Café Standard, a counter-service spot open for breakfast and lunch with delicious, healthy options. Monterrey Bar near the lobby is open from 5pm-midnight. And, of course, there’s the Lido Bayside, where you can watch the boats. While there, you may want to strike up a chat with your neighbour. You never know who they’ll be.
At a glance:
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Rooms and suites: 102, including the Bay View Suite
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Good for: Melting into the Miami Beach vibe, but in a small, trendy, exclusive environment. Don’t expect to find a nightclub
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Not so good for: The beach. The hotel is on Belle Isle, a small island just a short walkable bridge away from Miami Beach. You can drop into the water off a dock near the pool, or take a kayak or paddle-board out, but if you want to be right on South Beach, this isn’t your spot
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Rates: Rooms from $551
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Address: 40 Island Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139
Lilah Raptopoulos was a guest of The Standard Spa
Have you been to The Standard Spa? Tell us about it in the comments below. And follow FT Globetrotter on Instagram at @FTGlobetrotter
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