Review of The Shore Club, by Matt Morley

It may not look it from outside, but luxury hotel Shore Club is a sizeable 3-acre beachside resort on Miami's South Beach. It has a Nobu outpost and an Art Deco lobby, but if you really want to know what The Shore Club is about, pack a pair of beach shorts or a bikini and head for the pool.

The facilities

Or rather 'pools' plural, as this luxury hotel has both a full-size main pool with floating recliners and another smaller lap pool with hot tub, bar and exit directly onto the beach.

Guests at the Shore Club have priority access to the Moroccan-themed poolside daybeds during the day, when it is all about kicking back in the sun with friends, listening to live DJ sets and working your way through a glamorous menu of fresh fruit cocktails, frozen grapes and innovative sandwich'n'salad combos.

Mixing alcohol and swimming is never recommended, but there appears to be much more of the former at the Shore Club during the day anyway, with only the occasional visitor looking for an aquatic escape from the midday sun. Reclining models hide behind over-sized sunglasses and their clam-shell cells, while the chaps flitter flirtatiously around the water's edge organizing their next dinner reservation, guest list and after-party invite.

After 5pm, non luxury hotel guests are welcomed, the sun begins to set and the music levels rise. Due to the sheer size of the space (10,000 sq ft), the velvet rope policy is relatively egalitarian here, but this is still very much the home of the South Beach scenesters. Fittingly, the Shore club has an exclusive red VIP room that offers an alternative to the open-plan outdoors area, for those looking for something a little more intimate. The long, thin bar located between the nighttime entrance and Nobu's dining area takes on catwalk-like qualities after midnight as new arrivals are forced to parade along it upon entry.

The rooms

The Shore Club has 307 rooms in 3 separate, inter-connected buildings, with various private bungalow accommodation options included.

Rooms and suites at the luxury hotel have Mexican sandstone bathrooms with glass-surrounded wet-areas. Beds have 400 thread-count Egyptian linen, and other decadent goodies include and Korres bath products, flat-screen televisions, digitally downloadable movies and Wi-Fi.

Shore Club's 7 bungalows up the extravagance ante even more, with teak-framed beds and private outdoor showers.