South Florida has plenty of places for a staycation, but few rank above South Beach. I fulfilled a long-running desire for a SoBe escape at Uma House by Yurbban, 1775 James Ave. The boutique 136-room property with two towers has a strategic location, across the street from the sand, two blocks north of Lincoln Road and just a block from the Miami Beach Convention Center, the epicenter of Art Basel Miami.
Parent company Yurbban Hospitality Group started out in Spain and has grown to 20 locations, including Colombia, Peru and three others in SoBe: Crest Hotel & Suites, Casa Boutique Hotel and Aqua Hotel.
Uma’s Sunset Tower is home to check-in — enter off of St. James Street, just south of 18th Street. Walking up to the check-in area immediately set the vibe with chic landscaping and sleek furnishings. The Sunset Tower has art pieces selected to evoke old Miami charm.
The Sunrise Tower on the east side of the property has a fun bohemian counter-culture ambiance with retro photos. Café Americano on the ground floor is super convenient and offers breakfast, lunch, dinner and a lively cocktail hour. The people watching along Collins is quite fun.
The Sunrise Tower’s rooftop pool area offered a bar with complimentary beer and wine during happy hour. The view to the east was quite lovely with The Delano just to the south.
I stayed in the Sunrise Tower on an upper floor with a sweeping view of Collins Avenue and the Atlantic Ocean.
The fun vibe of the room was set by a vinyl record player with the Beach Boy’s “Endless Summer” ready to play along. A long low dresser was ready with snacks for purchase. Multiple USB and 110 outlets forestalled one of my pet peeves about many hotel rooms. Everything was fresh and clean. The comfy beds had 300-thread-count sheets.
The hotel was a great location for a series of casual foodie adventures.
After recently profiling chef Michelle Bernstein, I was eager to visit Sweet Liberty (237-B 20th St.), which enlists her talents along with her husband, David Martinez and bartenders John Lermayer and Dan Binkiewicz.
Happy hour was in full form and the restaurant was buzzing with a rock and roll soundtrack from my youth, being enjoyed by a crowd much younger than myself. Bernstein’s fried chicken sandwich lived up to its billing and was accompanied by a tasty watermelon salad. I also ordered the shoestring fries — pure perfection — and the brownie dessert with a scoop of ice cream served in a small cast iron skillet. I had to tell myself not to eat the whole thing.
Breakfast Saturday morning was at Café Americano. I loved the CA Breakfast Sandwich, with shaved ham, fluffy scrambled eggs, cheddar and provolone and a griddled brioche bun. Sunday morning was indulgent French toast with a tres leches custard, rum dulce de leche, and strawberries.
One of the great things about SoBe is its walkability, so it was easy to check out Ocean Drive, the Lincoln Road Mall and Washington Avenue.
I came across Mozzico Cucina, Pizza & more (1616 Washington Ave.) at lunchtime on Saturday and had an outstanding rectangular slice of pesto pizza with cherry tomatoes and basil. I got dessert at Osmanlizadeler Baklava (618 Lincoln Road). Being a chocoholic, you can guess what mine had in it.
I wanted to keep it a little light for dinner and dropped into Rosetta Bakery (1666 Collins Ave.) and had The Authentic Rosetta sandwhich, a delight filled with Italian cooked ham, cream cheese, prosciutto di parma and arugula mortadella.
As I drove back north on State Road A1A the next morning, I concluded that Uma was a fun experience with great vibes and an unfailingly friendly staff. If you want to go, check out umahousesouthbeach.com for end-of-year specials.
