Hotel Beaux Arts, Autograph Collection

Hotel Beaux Arts, Autograph Collection occupies the upper floors of the JW Marriott Marquis in central Miami. That gives you a city stay with a slightly more considered feel than a standard large hotel: spacious rooms, art-inspired names and views over the city, with the practical advantage of restaurants, leisure facilities and room service in the same building.

It suits divers who want Miami rather than a resort strip. You can spend the morning on the water, return to air conditioning and a proper bed, then head out for dinner without turning the evening into a transport exercise. The hotel website is available in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese, which is useful when planning the stay and checking the details before arrival.

The setting is polished but not precious. There is a 24-hour front desk, private check-in and check-out, luggage storage and a concierge service, so an early arrival or a late departure need not leave you guarding your bags in the lobby like a suspicious airport extra.

You are in Miami city centre, at 255 Biscayne Boulevard Way, inside the JW Marriott Marquis. South Beach is 5.5 miles away, so this is not a beach hotel and you should choose it for the city location rather than for stepping straight from your room onto the sand. Hobie Beach is closer at 1.8 miles, while Miami Beach is about 3.9 miles away.

For getting around, Bayfront Park Station is roughly 1,000 feet away on foot, and Knight Center station is about 1,150 feet away. Government Center metro station is around 0.8 miles away, with Miamicentral about 1 mile on foot. Bayfront Park itself is approximately 1,550 feet away, and Bicentennial Park is about 0.5 miles away when you need some air and a change from hotel corridors.

Miami International Airport is about 7 miles away by road, with a drive of around ten minutes in the stated conditions. American Airlines Arena is about three minutes by car, which matters if a basketball fixture or concert is part of the plan. The Art Deco Historic District and South Pointe Park are both around 5 miles away.

The room choice is aimed firmly at couples rather than groups: every listed category accommodates two people and uses an extra-large double bed. Even the guest rooms are generous by city-hotel standards, while the one-bedroom suites give you separate space to sit, unpack and stop treating the bed as a luggage bench. The Matisse Junior Suite is the sensible step up for a longer stay; the larger one-bedroom suites suit anyone who values room to spread out after a day of travel and diving.

City views are part of the proposition in several categories, including the Rockwell King Guest Room and the Miro Executive Suite. That will appeal if you would rather watch Miami's lights than stare at a car park. The rooms also include an Apple iPad, an espresso machine, a flat-screen television, a sofa and an iPod docking station. The iPod dock is a charmingly specific survivor, but the espresso machine is the one you are more likely to appreciate before an early departure.

Air conditioning matters in Miami, particularly when you return warm, salty and ready to stop being outdoors for a while. Room service runs around the clock, giving you a useful fallback when the body has voted for food but the legs have vetoed another outing. The accessible O'Keefe room has a roll-in shower and mobility and hearing adaptations, while children of any age are welcome; children aged 12 and over are charged as adults.

You have several ways to feed the post-dive appetite without leaving the building. Boulud Sud brings Mediterranean cooking, while L'Atelier adds another restaurant option; ThreeFortyFive and Intermezzo are available for breakfast, with Intermezzo also serving as the on-site coffee house. The hotel also has a bar, so you can keep the evening simple rather than launching a search for somewhere open and nearby.

Breakfast is served as a buffet, with continental and American choices, and breakfast to go is available. That last option is the practical one when the day starts before your ideal breakfast window. Lunch and dinner are also served, and room service is available 24 hours a day for the occasions when a shower, a meal and an early night beat any grand culinary expedition.

The surrounding streets give you further choice if you fancy eating out. Boulud Sud is about 50 feet away, DB Bistro Moderne around 250 feet, and Zuma roughly 200 feet from the hotel. Barjourne is about 350 feet away. In other words, you can dine on site, order upstairs or walk a few minutes; there is no requirement to make every meal into a Miami traffic project.

The leisure facilities are built for the hours when you are not diving, eating or sitting at the bar. There is an outdoor pool, a hot tub and a sauna, with sun loungers and pool towels for the straightforward business of cooling down and doing very little. The Enliven Spa and Salon adds massages, facials, a hammam, jacuzzi, mud baths and body wraps, while the spa lounge provides somewhere to slow the pace properly.

The fitness centre offers fitness classes and yoga, which gives you an option between complete horizontal recovery and pretending that a few stretches will undo the previous day's exertions. Beauty services are also available. For couples, the combination of pool, spa and room service makes it easy to build a quiet afternoon without needing an excursion timetable.

If you still have energy left, the hotel provides more unusual indoor distractions: an NBA-approved basketball court, the Jim McLean Indoor Golf School, virtual bowling, billiards, table tennis and foosball and air hockey. Bicycle rental is available too. Some activities carry an additional charge, so check the arrangement before committing to a tournament with your travelling companion.

Check-in starts at 16:00 and check-out is by 11:00. You need photo identification and a credit card at arrival. A 24-hour front desk, luggage storage, currency exchange and an on-site cash machine make the basic logistics uncomplicated, while private parking and valet parking are available if you are driving. Parking is chargeable.

The hotel is non-smoking throughout and has lifts, air conditioning and facilities for disabled guests. Laundry and dry-cleaning services are available, as is a business centre. Wi-Fi is available in the rooms; the hotel information gives different arrangements for this service, so confirm the current terms when booking rather than discovering them after you have uploaded half a day's photographs.

Airport transfers are not listed as a hotel service. From Miami International Airport, the road distance is about 7 miles and the stated drive is around ten minutes, although Miami traffic has never signed a binding agreement with the clock. Children of all ages are welcome, cots can be requested for children aged 0 to 2, and pets are not allowed.