Motel Blu

Capitalising on the slow gentrification of Biscayne, the revamped Motel Blu has christened itself the strip's first boutique motel. That's a bit of a stretch - Schrager and Starck it ain't - but the lobby has been smartened up, a security guard has been hired, and the drug dealers appear to have moved on. Rooms are ordinary, rather than ornate, but some open onto the river, where you can see herons, pelicans and manatees. The old diner, a one-time haunt of Sinatra, is being jazzed up. The pool has a bronze nude water feature, perhaps a nod to the strip club across the way. With its proximity to the Design District and the Wynwood art scene, the motel is luring edgier tourists and may yet spruce up the strip.