Miami reinvents itself as tourist haven

Basketball star LeBron James isn't the only hot commodity in Miami. Downtown is reinventing itself, with new hotels and restaurants (good news for those embarking at the top cruise port). South Beach lodgings keep upgrading. And a warehouse district has morphed into an art destination.

The once dismal city core, known for its port and scary-after-dark streets, is coming alive with condos, hotels and star-chef eateries - though the homeless still camp on sidewalks blocks from luxury hotels. The just-opened, 313-room JW Marriott Marquis- the most cutting-edge in the JW chain - boasts a minimalist white marble lobby, spacious rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Biscayne Bay, espresso makers, TV that plays on bathroom mirrors and an indoor basketball court used by guests and pros. Rates start at around $450 this time of year. The Marquis also houses the even more Luxe Hotel Beaux Arts, with 44 rooms and suites. The complex includes an already sought-after Miami table: Daniel Boulud's db Bistro Moderne, with a $32 hamburger stuffed with short rib and foie Gras.

The year-old Tempo Miami, A RockResort is in a condo tower by the American Airlines Arena, where the Miami Heat play. Its contemporary rooms and suites are quietly luxurious. Tempo's pace should pick up when townhouses by the pool are finished.

Walk through Wynwood Walls, a strikingcollection of two dozen murals by noted graffiti artists and others. It's free and located in a warehouse district near downtown re-created as an art center. A gallery stroll the second Saturday night of each month is popular. The new Wynwood Kitchen & Bar, with powerful murals by Shepard Fairey- known for his Barack Obama poster- overlooks the Walls. Sit on the patio and savor an oversized, $12 roasted beet salad with toasted walnuts and Gruyère cheese foam or a $19 snapper and mussel curry in a clay pot. What's great about Miami, says Wynwood developer Tony Goldman, who also renovated properties early on in South Beach, is that "each neighborhood has its own personality. It's like a great quilt. None of the pieces have to match."