Still the same: the impeccable grounds

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Fisher Island Hotel & Resort

The swanky Miami resort Fisher Island, a 20-minute trip from South Beach, has just completed the first phase of a $60 million renovation, and we spoke with Fisher Island Club CEO Larry Brown to get a full rundown of what’s changed since zzdtravel reporter Hailey E. checked in last year. The short answer: almost everything.

Dining is the biggest change, with a newly unveiled Beach Club, built from the ground up next to the historic pool house on the southern tip of the island. The restaurant is already incredibly popular, Brown told us, thanks to special events like stone crab Saturdays and monthly full moon parties. A menu of sandwiches, salads, and seafood entrees is available other times. It’ll be joined by a newly expanded trattoria, the visual centerpiece of which is a large exhibition kitchen. It’s scheduled to open February 22.

The island’s sports facilities have also been upgraded. The golf course, a nine-hole stunner designed by P.B. Dye, got new paspalum grass, new cart paths, and rebuilt bunkers. Meanwhile the tennis center now has Hydrogrid watering systems to keep its 18 courts match-ready; plans are in place to spruce up the tennis center’s pro shop by the end of this year.

Lastly, some rooms have been updated, with more in the renovation pipeline. So far, 15 units in the Courtyard Villas have fresh décor, along with 42-inch flat-panel TVs, iPod docks, Stearns & Foster mattresses with Frette linens, Keurig coffee makers, and travertine-paved private courtyards with Jacuzzis, lounge chairs, and a dining table.

The second phase of the renovation is now underway, the focus of which is the hotel’s 22,000-square-foot spa complex, which also houses the fitness center and a Pilates studio in a former airplane hangar. Expect that work to start late this year and wrap 18 months later.