The hottest new table in Miami comes via Paris. Opened last summer, it officially became a hotspot as a popular dinner destination following the Art Basel Miami fair last December. Hip crowds continue to show up at lunch, or for an excellent brunch menu served between 11:30AM and 4PM.
The first “Caviar Kaspia” restaurant is a Paris gastronomic landmark dating from 1927, and this is the first one across the Atlantic. Located inside the fashionable Webster concept store in Miami Beach, Kaspia Miami offers the same sophistication and refined menu of the French capital, with the specialty being caviar of the highest quality from the Caspian Sea, together with duck Foie Gras and vodka as the drink of choice.
The dining area has a rather classic/Art Deco look, with seats upholstered in silky stripes of brown, gold, and silver.

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After London, New York, and Beverly Hills, Mr. Chow has taken his fabulous style and fantastic Chinese cuisine to Miami. Opened just a few weeks ago, the restaurant’s two levels look out to a dining terrace and the sea, and includes a huge gold-and-Swarovski crystal chandelier designed by Mr. Michael Chow himself. Naturally (and not just because you’re in Miami), this is a place to see-and-be-seen, and the designer-restaurateur has brought one of China’s best chefs (Nick Jinson Du from Beijing) to create his signature dishes in America’s party city.
To make you stay just a little longer, the interior also offers a bar, lounge, and private rooms.

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Miami has some of the most fabulous hotels of any American city, particularly the Shore Club and the Delano. Now you can add another one to that list, which is not exactly just one more boutique hotel but really a “boutique resort.” EPIC HOTELincludes a private marina, lush gardens, and a fantastic poolside deck, while the rooms feature a modern Cheryl Rowley design. In total there are 411 rooms and some epic views of South Beach, in addition to space for meetings and special events.
After a day at the beach, guests can also get a relaxing massage at the spa or enjoy a refreshing swim in the 16th floor outdoor swimming pool. For dinner, savor the fresh seafood and spectacular views at the Area 31 Restaurant on the 16th floor.
And to end the night in true Miami style, there is River Lounge, offering dancing, drinks, and people-watching from its indoor and outdoor areas.
For complete details and booking information see here: Epic Hotel, Miami

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Tel Aviv beach

1. Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro
   Not only is Rio de Janeiro blessed with some of the world’s most dramatically gorgeous scenery, it also offers some of the most beautiful beaches together with urban pleasures. While Copacabana may be the most famous of all its beaches, and Leblon an increasingly attractive beach and neighborhood for sunseekers, it is in Ipanema that you’ll find the best of the city. Its golden sands are filled with flawlessly-sculpted bodies playing sports, jogging, or getting wet in the Atlantic, and that’s just the beginning of a day and night of posing and partying. Cross the avenue and you’ll find some of Rio’s best restaurants, or simply enjoy an açai juice or caipirinha at a cafe. Sitting on the sand or from a cafe table, take some time to admire the majestic peaks in the distance, the body-conscious strollers on the wave-patterned boardwalk, and soak up the sensual atmosphere all around.
2. Tel Aviv
   Tayelet (“Promenade” in Hebrew) is Tel Aviv’s sandy Mediterranean coastline lined with beach cafes and hotels. Often the site of parties and beautiful sunsets, it’s the city’s most irresistible area, the place everyone flocks to after a stroll down the trendy Sheinkin Street. After a day under the Mediterranean sun, the bronzed bodies clean themselves up under the freshwater showers and move on to Tel Aviv Port, a sleek seafront promenade that is a hot nighttime destination. It is actually an attractive spot at any time of the day, from brunch to evening jazz performance, especially on Shabbat.
3. Miami Beach, Miami
   In no other city in the world is the beach the main attraction. In Miami, it is the reason it receives so many tourists, curious about experiencing its parade of steroids, silicone, and sand-and-sun worshipers. When you finally take a break from that, the many cafes in the Art Deco District are another distraction, although the year-round heat will soon take you back to the ocean and eye candy. Miami is the ultimate see-and-be-seen destination, and the people-watching continues beyond the beach. The flashy clubs are for a night before another day at the palm-studded beach, and the joys of a flamboyant urban resort life.
4. Barceloneta, Barcelona
   An already exciting city can only get better with a beachfront. So when the Olympics came to Barcelona in 1992, its Mediterranean coastline got a makeover, and the result is Barceloneta Beach. Flashy hotels and restaurants have opened by this new sandy attraction, and it’s now a magnet for the city’s coolest crowds at any time of the day and night. That means you can work on your tan during the day, and later show it off at the clubs of any part of town. You can actually walk to the center of the city, strolling down a walkway lined with palm trees, cafes, and some exciting modern landmarks such as Frank Gehry’s 200-foot-long sculpture of a fish.
5. Venice Beach, Los Angeles
   L.A.’s bohemian beach is packed with bodybuilders, tattooed bodies, and all kinds of eclectic groups in its golden sands full of palm trees. In between them are rollerbladers, green lawns, galleries, cafes, and surf shops on the must-stroll Ocean Front Walk facing the beach. Venice Beach is a paradise for people-watching and by far the most interesting beach in Los Angeles, and arguably the most beautiful. Observe the human and natural spectacles and you’ll have a picture of what Los Angeles is all about.
6. Bondi Beach, SYDNEY
   Just as famous as Sydney’s Opera House are the city’s beaches, with waters always taken over by surfers and dolphins. Within minutes from the center of the city you’ll be stepping on golden sand, and the exact place to head to is Bondi Beach. It’s a crescent of sand faced by a variety of shops, often packed by sun and wave seekers. It’s a world-class surfing destination with a surprisingly relaxing atmosphere and a melting pot of crowds, from rich to poor, from young to old.
7. Tamariz, Lisbon
   Take the train from Lisbon’s central Cais do Sodré station to the seaside town of Cascais and you’ll be taken on a waterfront ride through a number of urban beaches. Step off the train in Estoril, just after the city’s Tagus River becomes the Atlantic, and stay laying on Tamariz Beach. Facing it from across the road is Europe’s largest casino, while standing above the sand is a castle belonging to the royal family of Monaco. Those were built when this coast was a haven for exiled royalty and European nobility during World War II, and the place still retains a certain faded glamour. On the sand you’ll be competing for space with crowds from Lisbon, its suburbs, and tourists on the hottest days, and for a refreshing drink or a meal, there are a number of bars facing the ocean. On summer months, this beach is a summer club at night, with tanned bodies dancing and drinking the night away.

Ipaneama Beach, Rio de Janeiro

Tamariz Beach, Lisbon

Venice Beach, Los Angeles

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Altis Belem | Lisbon
Finally Lisbon’s new hotels are not opening in the business districts uptown, but in the city’s historical areas by the river. The new Altis Belem Hotel is found on the riverfront between the Discoveries Monument and Belem Tower, and although it’s only been open for a couple of weeks, its café with wonderful river views is already quite popular. At the restaurant you’ll be served Portuguese cuisine by a Michelin-starred chef, and the BSpa includes a gym, sauna, massage treatments, and both an interior and outdoor pool. The 45 rooms and five suites overlook the Tagus and are named after the territories explored by the Portuguese explorers who departed from this very spot.

Betsey Hotel | Miami
On April 1st, Miami’s landmark Betsey Ross Hotel officially reopened after a major makeover. Gone is the Ross in the name, and the new Betsey Hotel includes the BLT Steak restaurant with Laurent Tourondel as the acclaimed chef to draw the crowds, and a “safari-chic” décor to grab guests’ attention. The new high-tech interior includes televisions imbedded in the bathroom mirrors, while on the rooftop is a solarium with an ocean view — the perfect place to relax after a day at the beach or a treatment at the full-service spa.

Thompson LES | New York
New York’s Lower East Side has become an increasingly popular destination to go out at night, but has never attracted hip boutique hotels. That will surely change after the recent opening of Thompson LES, a hotel whose Chinese restaurant and lounge will surely attract those Lower East Side night owls. Then there’s Above Allen, the open-air bar with a retractable roof, and not only will this be the major new hotspot in the neighborhood, but also in all of Manhattan. The rooms aren’t exactly large, but they’re flawlessly designed, as you’d expect in a Thompson hotel.

Art Plus | Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv’s hotels are finally opening themselves up to a more discerning traveler who prefers places with the style and character not always found at big chain hotels. The latest one is Art Plus, formerly called Top Hotel and renamed following renovations that lasted until late 2008. The interior now features Israeli art in a gallery, and includes murals by local artists on every floor and video art in the lobby. The furnishings are modern but in retro style, while the breakfast room offers art books and magazines. After a day at the beach nearby, it is also possible to go up to the rooftop sundeck to watch the sun set over the Mediterranean.

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For all of that, UCityGuides.com has created the Uwards, the travel awards highlighting the best of what’s new in the urban world. There are 15 categories this year, which are:

-Best airport
-Best airport magazine
-Best in-flight magazine
-Best hotel group
-Best new building
-Best new body & soul experience
-Best new rooftop bar
-Best new members’ club
-Best new concept
-Best new cafe
-Best new restaurant
-Most welcomed new opening
-Best new business hotel
-Best new boutique hotel
-Best new hotel

To find out what won these Uwards, see UCityGuides’ Uwards – Urban Travel Awards page.