The Standard Spa, Miami Beach

Are you familiar with the Standard Hotels?  They are a chain of boutique hotels with locations in NYC, Hollywood, LA, and Miami.  My boyfriend Sam has been a big fan of them for years, but I only recently became aquatinted with the chain.  They market themselves as an "adult playground", and I'd have to agree.  A few months ago Sam and I traveled to their Miami location to spend a weekend celebrating a year together, and I loved it so much I just had to share it with you.

The Standard Spa, Miami Beach sits right on the ocean, and is considered the most relaxing hotel of the chain- which is exactly the reason we went!  It definitely doesn't fit in with the typical hustle and bustle of Miami Beach.  Each room features an old-fashioned outdoor bathtub on a private sundeck. There's also a lightly screened terrace area with a sunbed, placed further out on its own patio, and canvas deckchairs.  The decor in the rooms is very minimal and serene:

 They focus on healthy living and have daily yoga classes, hydrotherapy, and an extensive spa with a traditional Turkish hamam.  The hamam is similar to a steam room, and has heated marble that you can lay down on to relax your back and aching muscles.  I got a traditional massage and it was loooovely to say the least.  Here's what the hamam looks like:

Because the hotel focuses on R&R, it's perfectly normal for guests to eat dinner and walk around in their robes and slippers.  Which is exactly what we did:

We enjoyed sangria and ceviche after our spa treatments in the main dining room.  In addition to the laundry list of cool things about this hotel, the food is unbelievable. 

Unfortunately, the weekend we chose to go to Miami was also the weekend Hurricane Irene decided to head for the Florida coast!  We had to end our weekend respite a day early, and the 2 days we did spend in Miami were rainy and overcast.  That's why I don't have many pictures to share with you that I took myself~ only a few indoor instagram shots.  

Nonetheless, I highly recommend checking out this hotel if you are looking for a calm, healthy, and rejuvenating weekend.  It's romantic, too!  So romantic that Sarah (of Chevrons & Stripes) got engaged there.

{images via here.}