Room Mate Waldorf Towers

A 1937 Lighthouse Tower on Ocean Drive

At the corner of Ocean Drive and 9th Street, Albert Anis designed this three-story building in 1937 for Shawver Builders, capping the rounded corner with a lighthouse-like tower that remains one of the street's most recognizable silhouettes. Continuous horizontal banding, vertical ribbing at the corner bay, and a stepped ziggurat parapet on the projected central bay mark it as Art Deco rather than the Streamline Moderne curves more common a few blocks south. Guests today still check in beneath the same rounded tower postcards have used to represent Ocean Drive for decades. The building spent decades hosting Ocean Drive visitors before Room Mate, the Spanish hotel group, took on the restoration, keeping the original facade and lobby details rather than modernizing them away.

Why It Works

We selected it for the combination of a genuine Anis building, the same architect responsible for the Viscay a few blocks south, and an oceanfront position directly on Ocean Drive's main stretch. The multicolored terrazzo floors and glass-block ornamentation in the lobby, along with the fluted columns supporting the porch, are original to 1937 rather than added in the restoration, and the neon signage above the entry keeps the building legible as Art Deco after dark, not just by day.

Why This Location

860 Ocean Drive sits inside South Beach's busiest and most photographed stretch, directly across from the beach, with Lincoln Road's shopping and the Miami Beach Convention Center both within walking distance. It's a position built for people who want Ocean Drive's cafés, people-watching and nightlife immediately outside, with direct beach access across the street rather than a block or two back, and the street's late-evening energy is part of the trade-off for being this central.

Fast Facts

• Price: Luxury

• Vibe: 1937 Art Deco tower, restored lobby terrazzo and neon signage

• Rooms: 44, oceanfront

• Best For: Ocean Drive first-timers, travelers who want beachfront without leaving the main strip

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: the rounded, lighthouse-like corner tower at Ocean Drive and 9th Street

• Dining: on-site restaurant and bar

• Amenities: beach chairs, loungers and towels included, 24-hour front desk, valet parking

• Attractions: Ocean Drive, Lincoln Road, Miami Beach Convention Center, the beach

Art Deco Details in the Lobby and Porch

The porch's fluted columns and the lobby's multicolored terrazzo floors and glass-block ornamentation survived the building's decades as an Ocean Drive mainstay, and the restoration under Room Mate kept them rather than replacing them with a more generic boutique-hotel look. Neon signage above the entry is original to the building's run as an Ocean Drive landmark, not a retrofit for social media, a detail that separates a restored Art Deco building from a new one built to resemble one.

Oceanfront Rooms, Room Mate Hospitality

The 44 rooms split across Deluxe King, Deluxe King with Ocean View, Deluxe Twin and suite categories, with private bathrooms throughout and most rooms carrying a tea and coffee maker and a refrigerator. Most rooms look toward either the ocean or the pedestrian energy of Ocean Drive itself, so specifying a preference at booking is worth the extra step. Room Mate, which operates the hotel, includes beach chairs, loungers and towels for guests heading straight across the street to the sand, along with daily housekeeping, valet parking and a 24-hour front desk.

Before You Book

Check-in starts at 3pm, with a later check-out at noon, and children are welcome throughout. A resort fee covers water, beach chairs and towels, worth factoring into the total rate before booking. With Ocean Drive's main strip directly outside, rooms facing the street carry more evening noise than those tucked toward the back, worth asking about at booking for anyone who sleeps light.