Miami's Fontainebleau resort

Fontainebleau, Miami Beach Miami - Arabstoday Continuing our occasional series on the world's top hotels and the stars who frequent them, Sarah Turner checks out the Fontainebleau, Miami Beach. STAR QUALITY: Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce and husband Jay-Z, Sean Connery, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Sean Penn. VITAL STATISTICS: From Fifties chic to 21st Century bling, the resort of Fontainebleau has crested the wave of Miami glamour for more than 50 years. Originally designed by famed architect Morris Lapidus and opened in 1954, there are 1,504 rooms and suites, the nicest in the original curved building. Lady Gaga staged a spectacular New Year's Eve concert here and stayed in the Penthouse. Small isn't beautiful at the Fontainebleau - the place is a glorious melange of status swimming pools, big-name restaurants and cutting-edge nightclubs, after a 2008 refurbishment that cost more than £1billion. The pool scene comes close to performance art; instant celebrity status comes with the hiring of a cabana. Lining the swimming pools, they come with minibars, sofas, televisions - and safes. Rihanna and Jennifer Lopez like hanging out in them. LOCATION REPORT: With the full-on entertainment on offer round every corner of the resort, it's easy to forget that there's a rather nice stretch of sand outside the door. More than eight miles long, palm-fringed Miami Beach can be best seen in the aerial shot at the start of the James Bond film Goldfinger that was partly filmed at the hotel. There are millionaires' waterfront mansions across the water and you can join the local joggers on the wooden boardwalk to get to the Art Deco hotels of South Beach. KEY ATTRACTION: Performance has been at the heart of Fontainebleau since Frank Sinatra made it the headquarters of his Rat Pack in the Fifties, and it's still relevant today. The nightclub LIV is considered one of the top clubs in the US. Spend enough money and you can do pretty much anything at Fontainebleau, from having a higha tech workout to dining at the celebrated Hakkasan restaurant or the equally acclaimed Scarpetta. Beyonce and Jay-Z always have the spaghetti, and insist on ordering it for their friends. The late Whitney Houston filmed several scenes for The Bodyguard in the ballroom and Penthouse. IN THE NEWS: Ricky Martin headlined Thanksgiving Day concert in November, and Sean Penn and family came for a taste of all-American luxury after helping out in the Haiti crisis. GOOD ENOUGH FOR THE REST OF US? Rooms start at £156 a night, which you might think is pretty reasonable once you find out that hiring one of the cabanas costs just as much (and you can't even spend the night there). A meal at the hotel's La Cote restaurant, overlooking the ocean, starts at £37. GETTING THERE: Virgin Holidays (0844 557 3859, virginholidays.co.uk) offers seven nights at the Fontainebleau from £1,195 per person, including flights, transfers and room-only accommodation.