Cameron Diaz and Alex Rodriguez's A-post Florida end of the line: Cameron Diaz and New York Yankees baseball star Alex ‘A-Rod’ Rodriguez have proved to be manna from heaven for the world’s paparazzi over the past few weeks.
One minute their relationship is top secret - the next, they’re flaunting themselves to the Press. First they’re snapped smooching on the beach in the swanky Mexican resort of Cabo San Lucas; then they’re on show in Miami Beach.
If you had been dining at upmarket steakhouse Prime One Twelve in Miami Beach last month, you might have been slightly surprised to spot former US President Bill Clinton sitting down with Cameron and A-Rod. To give some idea of the meeting of minds here, imagine Tony Blair chumming up with Posh and Becks at Le Caprice.
The fact that the Clinton/Cameron summit took place in Miami Beach, however, vividly illustrates how the Florida resort - which has enjoyed more ups and downs than Jennifer Aniston’s love life - is now in the midst of a major upswing.
From Danni Minogue to Beyonce and Jay-Z, the celebrity press has been filled with a parade of star names who have been wintering at the ‘Beach’ in recent weeks. During their Florida visit, Beyonce and Jay-Z were regular diners at Cheeseburger Baby, the oldest cheeseburger joint on South Beach. It’s much cheaper and far more ‘down with the kids’ than stuffy Prime One Twelve.
Recent sightings at Mac’s Club Deuce on 14th Street include Matt Damon and Kate Moss, who clearly enjoy the place’s studied ‘dive-bar feel’ and approve of the record selection on the unusually well supplied juke box.
There are a number of reasons behind Miami Beach’s sudden revival. One of the key factors has been the reopening of the Fontainebleau after its recent billion-dollar makeover.
Located several blocks north of South Beach, it was once the favourite Florida hang-out of the Rat Pack. It was also the hotel where Shirley Eaton memorably suffered a fatal dose of gold-plating in the 007 film classic Goldfinger.
After its heyday, the hotel endured some long dowdy decades - the last time I visited, in the Nineties, the carpets were emitting a noxious odour. But the place has now sensationally got its mojo back.
It attracts a stellar elite from the likes of President Obama to Christina Aguilera and Kim Kardashian, who both recently booked in for a friend’s hen party.
The arrival of the ultra-trendy W Hotel chain has also played a significant role in repositioning Miami Beach further up the social scale. When it opened 18 months ago, it was claimed that the property set ‘a new standard for a contemporary lifestyle experience’.
The hotel does indeed ooze glamour. For its pool area, for example, the designer took inspiration ‘from the many beautiful gardens found in Provence’. On a sunny weekend afternoon, locals are practically fighting each other for sunloungers.
‘You know what I hate about Venice,’ I heard one young rich girl tell her friend in between sips of a lethal-looking cocktail: ‘It’s so crowded. It’s so false.’‘Yeah,’ replied her friend: ‘Europe is so not worth it.’
The huge effort that went into the W’s design - and the even more impressive amounts of money lavished on it - were intended to produce a hotel that could serve as a global flagship for the W brand.
In less than a year, however, the W South Beach has been overtaken by the newer W in Fort Lauderdale. Last week the W Fort Lauderdale - about 30 minutes’ drive north from South Beach - was named by Tripadvisor as the ‘trendiest hotel in America’ (they mean this nicely, by the way).
But judging by the dozens of Ferraris and Maseratis being valet-parked the weekend that I was there, the W in South Beach will take some time before it’s displaced from the number one spot for Bright Young Things looking for somewhere to pose beside the pool. The hotel’s Mr Chow restaurant is another place in which to be seen.
The W is more than 90 per cent full for much of the year - which helps explain how it manages to charge a room rate of around £500 per night. For your money you’ll be relieved to hear that every room guarantees a sea view - the best view, however, comes from the hotel’s ‘Extreme Wow’ suite which will set you back a little under £4,000 per night.
The stand-out development here is the Soho Beach House developed by Nick Jones, the man behind Soho House and Shoreditch House in London.
The new property enjoyed a star-studded opening last October attended by the likes of Michael McIntyre. It would be hard to imagine a more perfect place for a holiday anywhere in the world. Immediately adjacent to the Fontainebleau, the Beach House has taken shape on the site of the historic art deco Sovereign Hotel. It boasts 50 guest rooms, a ground-floor drawing room with a grand piano, a 100ft pool surrounded by lush gardens, a tiki bar and an outpost of Cecconi’s, which now attracts the celeb crowd in West Hollywood.
On the second floor is a club bar, a homage to Forties Cuba that features vintage wood-panelling, antique tiles and an antique ceiling. Nearby are a comfy digital screening room and a signature Cowshed spa.