Five-star South Florida

By Christopher Elliott and Kari Haugeto

updated 2:41 p.m. ET March 31, 2005

No sooner had we settled into our room at the Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove than we heard a knock at the door. Aren, our 16-month-old son, toddled over to open it, but his tiny hands couldn’t reach the knob. “Room service,” the voice on the other side announced. Did we order room service? Hardly, but that didn’t stop a hotel employee from delivering a silver tray with an enormous, freshly-baked M&M cookie — Aren’s favorite — to our room.

Luxury properties like the Ritz-Carlton make it their business to know what you (and your kids) like when you’re away. In the Miami area, where a string of new luxury hotels have opened recently, properties are going out of their way to distinguish themselves from one another - whether it’s a decadent rooftop pool, a museum-quality collection of classic cars or white-glove personalized service.

And they’ve got something for everyone. Even if you’re still in diapers.

Aren, we should note, is not easily impressed. He’s been to more countries and stayed in more hotels at the tender age of one than we had before we met. But his eyes were locked on that still-soft cookie as it was carried across the room and placed on the table.

“This is for you, Master Aren,” the hotel associate said, completely straight-faced.

The boy climbed onto one of the oversize chairs, sat down, and began eating the cookie as if somehow he had expected it. (In fact, before we arrived, a hotel representative discreetly asked what kind of cookies he liked. Only later did we learn that this attention to detail is routine for frequent guests.)

Michelle Payer, a hotel spokeswoman, said kids are important to the Ritz. “As the growth of family travel to luxury hotels continues to increase, we’ve expanded our signature service to deliver a special experience that even the kids will remember long after the vacation is over,” she told us.

The Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove offers the same amenities you’d expect to find at another Ritz-Carlton - lavishly decorated rooms, attentive service, a spa and hallways filled with original art. But then again, so do the other Miami luxury hotels that have sprung up in the recent past.

If this new hotel has a distinguishing feature, it it’s almost certainly the Bizcaya Grill, its restaurant. That is where chef Alfredo Patino introduces guests to his “new taste of the past” concept, which takes classic continental cuisine and updates with modern interpretations. Among his creations: citrus-cured Salmon with egg mimosa, red onion and fried caper, and truffle-scented fried artichoke with duo fondue.

Alas, Aren seemed more interested in playing in the nearby fountain than sampling the entrees that had landed Bizcaya on a list of the top 75 restaurants in the world, according to a recent magazine poll.

A toddler, after all, has a limited appreciation of fine dining.

The classic car exhibit at the Trump International Sonesta Beach Resort in nearby Sunny Isles, Fla., proved to be more Aren’s speed. The upscale hotel displays developer Michael Dezer’s prized collection of automobiles, which include a vintage 1928 Duesenberg valued at about $1 million, a 1950 Mercury used in a James Dean movie and the first convertible Mustang.

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