The Colony Hotel

The Colony is probably the most photographed of all the Art Deco hotels in Miami Beach. Look at its sign. That cool blue inverted 'T' Colony Hotel sign is a design classic, especially when the neon lights up at night and paints the small white and pastel blue building completely blue.
The hotel dates from 1935, which makes it one of the earliest of the Art Deco hotels. It was also one of the first to be designed by Henry Hohauser, the man responsible for Essex House and some of the other Miami Beach hotels that have become icons of the city. The lines of The Colony appear to be straight and symmetrical at first but if you look closely they are in fact gently curving. That's a really ancient architectural technique, which was even used in the building of the Parthenon in Athens.
Let's walk through those classic Art Deco front doors into the lobby, which has also kept its Art Deco look. The look follows through into many of the guest bedrooms too, although of course they've all been updated over the years.
You don't need to be staying at the hotel to enjoy a drink in the Colony Bar either, so ask the way and take a look. The Colony has now been a popular evening meeting place for eighty years. You'll spot the bar and the rest of the hotel – especially that front sign – in numerous movies, such as Scarface, and in TV series, including Dexter.

So leave The Colony and turn right along Ocean Drive to the very next building.