Two stays. One during the thick of Art Basel, when Miami Beach was as packed as it gets. The other during a much quieter early summer week.

Both times, I booked with World of Hyatt points. Both times, I scored epic suite upgrades.

Spread across three oceanfront towers, the property establishes its style immediately. Valet staff walk you straight up to the second-floor lobby, which feels more intimate and modern than a typical hotel entrance.

The public spaces are gorgeous, with curved wood-paneled walls and recessed ceilings. The indoor lounge area is furnished with plush sofas and armchairs in shades of coral, cream, and turquoise, accented by enough lush, potted greenery to bring the tropical feel indoors. This space opens directly to a breezy terrace, which flows down to the pool deck and the beach beyond.

Standard rooms run roughly $400 a night in the off-season and climb past $1,000 during busy weeks. Paying cash means paying the $65-a-night resort fee too. For cash bookings, book through American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts or Chase's The Edit instead of straight through Hyatt; both programs include the Andaz Miami Beach, and either one gets you elite-like perks on a cash rate, like a room upgrade when available, daily breakfast for two, and a property credit.

If you want to book with points instead, award nights run 20,000 to 40,000 World of Hyatt points, with the resort fee waived. If you’re short on World of Hyatt points, you can transfer points from Chase Ultimate Rewards® or Bilt Rewards. It's always worth running the math before deciding between cash and points.

Both of my stays were booked with points, and though I only have mid-tier Explorist status myself, I was able to enjoy top-tier Globalist perks thanks to a generous friend's Guest of Honor award, which lets top-tier Hyatt elites pass their status benefits along to someone else's reservation. That meant free breakfast, parking that normally runs over $50 a night, and the suite upgrades were all included.

If you're paying cash, the daily $65 resort fee is unavoidable. Here's what you get for it:

Also, don't pack the thin Andaz beach bag from your closet in your suitcase. It looks like a freebie, but the charge if it slips into your bag is steep.

Standard rooms run on the smaller side, so I really appreciated the suite upgrades. I peeked at my friend's standard room during one of my stays, and while it's well-designed, it felt a bit underwhelming for the price.

My first upgrade was an Ocean Vista Balcony Suite with a soaking tub, which was about 525 square feet. For my second stay, I got a Skyline View Suite, measuring up to about 600 square feet. Personally, I preferred the ocean suite. Although it was a little smaller, I love a good hotel bath and balcony moment.

The bedrooms carry a touch of mid-century glamour: low-slung bed frames, accordion-style headboards, crushed velvet and lamé cushions, and textured wall coverings. But the bathroom is the real star of the show.

The bathrooms are gorgeous, outfitted with veined marble, dramatic semicircle mirrors, double sinks, and walk-in showers lined with shimmering tile. They came stocked with premium Byredo Eleventh Hour toiletries, and I loved them enough to count them as a room highlight on their own.

Pro tip: you can buy the full-size Byredo bottles at the front desk for about $23, which feels like a steal considering this size normally retails for around $100.

José Andrés Group is behind all of the food and drink here. Bar Centro, just off the lobby, serves coffee by day and cocktails by night, and Soleo Pool & Beach is the poolside restaurant, with a menu of casual bites like truffle fries, tuna tartare, ceviche, and a smash burger.

Aguasal, the Mediterranean-inspired restaurant on the ground floor, handles both breakfast and dinner. Breakfast runs until noon on weekends, clutch if you're nursing a hangover, and thanks to the Globalist perks from my Guest of Honor status, it was included both times. The hot selection is a bit limited, but the pastries, fruit, and especially the Spanish cheeses are excellent.

The marquee steakhouse, Bazaar Meat by José Andrés, was still under construction during both of my visits. You'll also want to note that a mandatory 21% service charge hits every food and beverage bill regardless of where you eat on property.

The hotel features two distinct oval-shaped pools, one for adults only and one open to all ages. I noticed a few bachelorette groups hanging out during my stays. Unlike some other properties along Collins Avenue, there's no DJ blasting music at the pool, so it never turns into a wild day club scene.

Staff will help track down a lounger, but they do run out of seating, since a good chunk of the seats require an extra rental fee.

The family pool gets loud with kids by afternoon, but the beach never had a seating shortage.

The gym is on the 10th floor, with an outdoor deck that has incredible ocean views, right where the complimentary group fitness classes, think yoga, HIIT, and mat pilates, are held.

Getting around the area is easy. I took an Empower from Miami International Airport and it only cost me about $20.

Once you're checked in, you're just a few doors down from Soho Beach House (Pro tip: you don't need to be a member to grab a table at the restaurant). You're also not far from Motek, just down Collins Avenue and one of my favorite restaurants in Miami. The free Miami Beach Trolley and the Freebee app are solid for short local rides, and rideshares like Uber and Lyft are all easy to grab too.

As much as I wanted to bike along the boardwalk on the beach, I skipped the "free" bike rentals since it wanted me to download an app, link my credit card and was way too complicated to set up.

What sticks with me most is that this hotel manages to feel fancy without being stuffy. There's no attempt to be a massive compound like the Fontainebleau just up the road, and it skips the theatrical maximalism of the Faena or the late-night entertainment draw of the Miami Beach EDITION. The whole vibe leans far more laidback and family friendly than the trendy, see-and-be-seen energy down at the 1 Hotel.

I've already been back once, which says plenty on its own, and I'll definitely be back again.