Talk about synergy: Miami Beach's Circa 39 hotel sits at the corner of Collins Avenue and 39th Street, and it was built in 1939 (as the Copley Plaza Hotel and Sherwood Apartments).
In 2008, the property, part of the Preferred Hotels & Resorts collection, was purchased by current owners the Krause family, who renovated it completely in 2014. Through it all, its art deco roots — its circa-'39 aesthetic, one might say — are still in evidence.
I should confess: During a hosted overnight stay last fall, I wasn't able to sample some of Circa 39's key features. I skipped its pool deck and gym and only glanced at the courtyard garden connecting the 97-room property's two buildings.
The garden, a press release tells me, "enchants with tropical plants, exotic birds and relaxing seating options," which sounds lovely. But there wasn't time; with a scant five hours or so between my arrival and bedtime, I had much to explore in Miami Beach before heading to Fort Lauderdale in the morning.
And Circa 39 certainly encourages off-property exploration. As soon as I checked in, the staff asked if they could help with restaurant recommendations or offer any other guidance on how I should spend my evening. They directed me to the boardwalk, a mere Collins Avenue crosswalk away, as the best way to navigate the hotel's Mid-Beach neighborhood.
Before that, however, I would have been remiss in skipping the hotel's WunderBar. It was, after all, happy hour at a property targeting the "down-to-earth, chic, budget-conscious" vacationer, as the Circa 39 literature states, so I felt duty-bound to check out the offerings.
I ordered a couple of light bites from the WunderBar's $5 happy hour menu: a jerk chicken taco and an order of three "Floribbean" wings (dressed in a mango and scotch bonnet barbecue sauce). They were downsized portions of the small plates available from Jules Kitchen, Circa 39's restaurant offering "feel-good food from far-flung places."
Rum is well represented at the WunderBar, with a dizzying array of aged, spiced and other varieties lining a wall of its modest, lobby-level space.
The bar makes good use of its inventory with a variety of specialty cocktails — "Wunder Drinks" in Circa 39 parlance. I had a Cherry Libre: a rum-and-Coke variation made with Bacardi Superior, Heering cherry liqueur and hecho-en-Mexico Coca-Cola (sweetened with cane sugar instead of corn syrup).
Beer selection leans toward the local, with offerings from Tampa-based Cigar City and South Florida's Funky Buddha.
I spent a few hours walking along the boardwalk and deciding where to have dinner in Mid-Beach (I settled on Cuban food) before calling it a night. I settled into my homey room, where the green-and-white patterned wallpaper, deep-orange curtains and rattan furniture reminded this somewhat roadworn travel writer that he was in South Florida.
Six hours or so later I was fueling up at the Jules Kitchen breakfast buffet, set to drive about an hour north to Fort Lauderdale. My stay at Circa 39 was all too short, but if I ever have the occasion to return I happily would, perhaps finally checking out that pool deck or garden, icy Cherry Libre in hand.
For more information about Circa 39, see www.circa39.com.