The Tony Hotel South Beach

The pool

• Rooftop pool
• Marked 3 ft 6 in
• Atlantic + Art Deco district views
• Day passes from $25
• Cabanas from $150

Why it's on the list

A preserved 1930s Art Deco building on Collins with a rooftop pool that looks out over the district on one side and the Atlantic on the other — three and a half feet the whole way, cabanas along the edge. It sells day passes, which makes it the most accessible rooftop swim on this list by a distance.

The stay

The Tony is the cheap seat with the good view — a meticulously preserved 1930s Art Deco building at 801 Collins, running three food and beverage concepts across four outlets, with a rooftop pool over the top of it. It is not trying to be the Betsy and does not price like it. What it has is the roof: the Atlantic in one direction, the Deco district in the other, day passes from $25 and cabanas from $150 for four, which is the cheapest legitimate way onto a South Beach rooftop we have found. At $$ take it as a base rather than a destination — you are buying the address and the deck, not the service.