The Wall Street Journal-20080215-WEEKEND JOURNAL- Travel -- The Finicky Traveler- Seeking South Beach Serenity- At Florida-s Setai- A Costly Quest to Meld Hipness- Night-s Sleep

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WEEKEND JOURNAL; Travel -- The Finicky Traveler: Seeking South Beach Serenity; At Florida's Setai, A Costly Quest to Meld Hipness, Night's Sleep

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With teak walls, antique jade carvings, dim lighting and neutral silk fabrics, our room at the Setai Hotel in Miami has a serene vibe, right down to the New Age music coming from a source we can't determine and the do-not-disturb sign with a topless Asian figure embossed in gold metal, finger to lips in a "shhh" gesture.

The Zen-like atmosphere is broken by the view from our window: cars stacked in the hotel's multifloor parking garage on one side and a dingy service alley on another.

But way off I can see a sliver of the Atlantic Ocean, and, below us, a lovely inner courtyard with real oranges set decoratively on metal bowls amid reflecting pools with glass sculptures. Quiet during the day, the courtyard has become one of the most popular see-and-be-seen night spots in South Beach, as we later find out.

Despite the chill blowing through Miami's real-estate market, South Beach and environs remain a draw for glitzy new hotel projects, whose developers no doubt hope to siphon off some Setai sizzle. New York's hip Gansevoort and Soho House hotels are opening Miami hotel-residence outposts, a W Hotel is in the works, and new designer boutique offerings include the Angler's Boutique Resort, a revamped Tides South Beach and a new Mondrian hotel.

A few miles up the beach, the classic Fontainebleau resort is scheduled to complete a $1 billion renovation and expansion this year, and the Eden Roc plans to open a 283-room tower this fall.

Despite what seems like a glut of luxury properties, hotel experts say that for now, at least, there's still plenty of demand. South Beach hotels "have carved out a global niche," and their performance is getting an extra boost from a strong euro, says Mark Woodworth of hospitality-industry consulting firm PKF Consulting.

Occupancy at Miami's upscale hotels in 2007 was 75.4%, up 2% from the previous year, while the average room rate rose 16%, according to Bobby Bowers, executive vice president of Smith Travel Research. Would it stay strong in a recession? That's "the $10,000 question," he says.

The Setai is operated by Singapore's General Hotel Management Ltd., whose properties include hotels in exotic Asian locales, and is owned by a New York development concern (which is also opening a Setai condo tower in New York). Since the hotel section of the Setai opened in 2005, it has generated continuous buzz for its luxurious trappings and sightings of celebrities who need but one name, such as Madonna, Bono and Beyonce.

But the tariff is stratospheric, even for the smallest and least desirable rooms; in peak season through April 14, rates start at $1,000 for a 600-square-foot room with a city view. And while money may be no object to many of its guests, we learned it pays to keep your eye on the check.

My husband and I were looking for a happy medium between the Ritz- Carlton (reliable but rather dull) and the Shore Club (torturously rowdy) -- two places on extreme ends of the SoBe spectrum among many we'd tried. The Setai's atmosphere and decor, with striking restored Shanghai bricks, bronze fireplace in the lobby and tropical hardwood floors, had impressed us when we'd stopped in for a drink or to visit guests. Despite bad views in the front part of the hotel, a small spa and some room quirks, we found the Setai a comfortable perch for enjoying Miami's art, sun and shopping.

The Setai is really two hotels in one. We stayed in the seven-story, boutique-style, Art Deco structure on busy Collins Avenue, with 86 rooms, the lobby, two restaurants and a long indoor bar. Behind it on the beach is a 40-story steel and glass tower opened in 2004 with 163 privately owned residences from one to four bedrooms, including 45 rented out to the public by the hotel. One of the highest structures for miles, it boasts dramatic (if somewhat vertigo-inducing) ocean views.

With no oceanfront rooms in the tower available, we had booked in the Art Deco building one of the king-bedded "studio suites," which come with street or courtyard views. The room had a sizable entry area with closets and a bathroom along the side of the room closest to the hall, which we figured would buffer any noise from the corridor. But the window overlooking the courtyard worried me a bit. Though I know no one goes to Miami for peace and quiet, I always like to be able to get some sleep. The young woman who'd showed us the room did her best to find us another. But the only other one available also overlooked the courtyard, and its door, at the foot of the bed, opened directly into the hall. We stuck with the first room.

Its designers had made good use of limited space, with a separate seating area, bronze-covered table and small plasma TV that pulled out from the wall. But they didn't get the lighting quite right. The entry area with the clothes closets was dim, and the shower was so dark that my husband had to pass out to me the dark bottles of toiletries so I could tell him which was shampoo. The black-granite tub was unappealing. (Having two sinks on opposite sides of the room was nice, though.)

We had to call the operator to ask how to turn off the music when we came back for the evening (the sound system was in the minibar closet) and hunt for the blow dryer (in a drawer in the same closet). To open the room's blinds, we had to lean over and reach back behind a lamp and into a recessed area of the wall.

But we liked the white chocolate truffles and bon bons left on our table when we returned to the room, and the little purple glass elephant offered as a memento of our stay. In contrast to what we've found in many South Beach hotels, the Setai's service -- from prompt housekeeping to attentive bellmen, valet and front desk staff -- impressed us.

I also liked the three pools, spread behind the residential tower toward the beach, each surrounded by exotic plants and lounge chairs, with a bar and grill facing the ocean. The designated lap pool, at 75 degrees, was way too cold for me. The pool closest to the outdoor bar and grill, at 95 degrees, was too hot. The middle pool, at 85 degrees, was just right. One warning: At the ends, which are especially shallow, watch your knuckles.

We had a harder time finding the entrance to the spa and gym, which can be reached only by turning off the main walkway to the pools, on the other side of an electrical closet. The spa has four treatment rooms with two tables each, all of which were booked. It also offers treatments in the guest rooms but we felt the floor space was a little tight for both of us to get a massage at the same time.

For breakfasts, the hotel transforms its main restaurant, spread over several rooms, into a lavish buffet. We liked the main restaurant well enough to dine in it twice rather than venture into the packed weekend South Beach scene. (The hotel has a smaller Grill Room.) It was also fun to sit, one night, next to the open kitchen. Chefs tossed fresh fish and chilies into sizzling pots while an aromatic steam gathered around us.

Over the two evenings, we sampled cold cauliflower bisque with basil oil, Peking duck salad with lychees, papaya and mango, yogurt- marinated lamb, lemon-grass glazed salmon and a selection of dim sum. The first night, we added a 20% tip to the bill. The next night we noticed an 18% gratuity was included -- the hotel's policy -- which we hadn't noticed the night before and the server hadn't mentioned. While service was good, it wasn't worth 38%, so we asked the front desk about it. They apologized and arranged to have the extra 20% credited back to our card.

As for my noise fears, there's a DJ every night in the courtyard, and the party can go on until 1 or 2 a.m. Fortunately, we discovered that turning the air-conditioning fan to high pretty much drowned out the din -- achieving the Zen-like state we needed to get that good night's sleep.