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Inside Kimpton Shorebreak Fort Lauderdale: A 1949 “Escape” Reborn as a Retro-Vintage Beach Hideaway
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I always tell people that the best hotels are the ones with a story to tell, and Kimpton Shorebreak Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort has more stories than most. This boutique property sits a block from the sand in the leafy North Beach Village, and its history reaches all the way back to 1949.
The Kimpton Shorebreak sign and its signature flamingos welcome you a block from Fort Lauderdale Beach.
Over the decades it has been an Olympic-pool pioneer, a backdrop for poolside beauty pageants, an assisted-living residence, and, for a stretch, an abandoned shell. Today it has been revitalized into a retro-vintage escape that feels both current and timeless. I recently toured the property with Paula Hodges, the hotel’s Executive Meeting Manager, and what follows is what I found, room by room and courtyard by courtyard.
Overview
Kimpton Shorebreak Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort is a 96-room boutique hotel set one block from Fort Lauderdale Beach. It originally opened in 1949 as the Escape Hotel, and it has been reborn with a retro-vintage aesthetic rooted in Miami’s Art Deco era, while preserving original architectural details that include the 1949 flooring.
Inside La Fuga, fluted walls and fresh orchids welcome diners to Chef Michael Mayer’s coastal Italian restaurant.
You can expect design-forward guest rooms, a coastal Italian restaurant called La Fuga, a rooftop bar called Escape, signature Kimpton touches like a daily social hour and a stocked beach bag in every room, and a calm, greenery-filled setting that suits couples, creatives, and small retreats.
Key Highlights
Originally opened in 1949 as the Escape Hotel, and among the first Fort Lauderdale properties with an Olympic-sized pool and air conditioning in every unit, open year-round.
96 rooms across three categories, Essentials, Premiums, and two corner Junior Suites, distinguished only by square footage.
A retro-vintage design inspired by Miami’s Art Deco heritage, with the original flooring preserved from 1949.
A block from Fort Lauderdale Beach, with a dedicated lounger area, a beach bag and towel in every room, daily beachfront yoga, and a vintage-Thunderbird-style golf cart for rides to the sand.
La Fuga, which means “the escape” in Italian, serves intercoastal Italian cuisine by Chef Michael Mayer, while the Escape Rooftop Bar nods to the property’s original name.
A pet-friendly, design-led member of the Kimpton family under IHG, with complimentary Wi-Fi, a daily social hour, and morning coffee, tea, and cold brew.
A 1949 Icon, Reborn
You can feel the history in the bones of this place. Kimpton Shorebreak was built in 1949, and according to Paula, by the same architect behind the B Ocean and another of the iconic buildings that shaped Fort Lauderdale. When it opened, it made a real splash. It was among the first properties in the area with an Olympic-sized pool and air conditioning in every unit, and it stayed open year-round. In post-war Fort Lauderdale, that was the height of modern glamour.
Terrazzo floors and glowing globe room numbers give the guest corridors a sun-washed, vintage feel.
Its original name was the Escape, a word the hotel has woven back through its present-day identity. The rooftop bar is called Escape, and the restaurant is La Fuga, which means escape in Italian. I love it when a hotel’s name becomes its through-line, and here the homage turns up everywhere you look.
Rounded, glowing room numbers in retro green type are a charming period detail.
The history runs deeper, and stranger, than most guests realize. Search “Escape Fort Lauderdale” online and you will surface inauguration-day articles along with photographs of beauty pageants staged around that famous pool. At one point the building served as an assisted-living property. Then it was abandoned, and there are photos of that chapter too, before it was revitalized into what stands today.
“It’s really neat to see how it was and what it transformed into being today, because you do not recognize it.” — Paula Hodges, Executive Meeting Manager, Kimpton Shorebreak Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort
A streamlined work nook comes with a Marshall Bluetooth speaker, vintage photographs, and a complimentary beach bag.
Because the structure is historically protected, there is a deliberate limit to what can be changed architecturally, which is part of why the interiors feel so considered. The flooring is original to 1949, and nearly everything else has been thoughtfully renovated around it. That balance between preservation and reinvention gives the property its character.
A retro mint fridge and round nightstand nod to the property’s Miami Art Deco roots, in a room with tropical art and warm wood floors.The console sink, walk-in shower, and graphic tile floor echo the property’s mid-century character.Clean lines, warm wood, and patterned wallpaper give the room an airy, design-forward feel.The junior suite gives you room to spread out, with a sofa, tropical art, and playful monkey-print wallpaper in the dressing area.A streamlined work nook comes with a Marshall Bluetooth speaker, complimentary Wi-Fi, and an Intracoastal-view window.
Retro-Vintage by Design: The Guest Rooms
The look here is retro-vintage, drawn from the Miami Art Deco era, and it reads as playful, warm, and unmistakably mid-century. The 96 rooms fall into three categories: Essentials, Premiums, and two Junior Suites. A detail that design lovers will appreciate is that the categories differ only in square footage. Every other finish and amenity is identical across the board, so you are never trading away the experience, only the elbow room.
A sandy lounge nook, putting green, hammock, and complimentary bikes invite you to slow down and stay awhile.
The two Junior Suites are both corner units, one stacked above the other, and they run roughly 500 to 540 square feet. One has earned a reputation as the unofficial bridal or honeymoon suite, and standing in it, I understood why, because the corner light does wonderful things to a vintage palette.
Inside every room, the thoughtful touches add up:
A clothing steamer, a yoga mat, and a bathrobe
A Bluetooth speaker and a mini fridge, both styled to match the retro-vintage theme
Two complimentary waters, refreshed daily
A flat-screen TV, plus complimentary Wi-Fi throughout the property, which is a relief in an era when so many hotels nickel-and-dime you for it
A full lineup of bath products, including shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and a hair dryer
A beach bag with a towel inside, practically inviting you to walk to the sand
A roomy bath pairs a double vanity and walk-in shower with bold geometric tile and a teak stool.Every room comes with a striped Shorebreak beach bag and towel, ready for the short walk to the sand.
Getting to the Beach, and the Amenities Along the Way
For a property a block from the beach, Kimpton Shorebreak makes getting your toes in the sand easy. There is a dedicated area with loungers, and the beach bag and towel waiting in your room mean you can be poolside to oceanside in minutes.
The transportation is where the design personality shows. The hotel keeps a vintage Thunderbird that only leaves the property for classic-car events, and it has a golf cart styled to look like that same Thunderbird, which will ferry guests down to the beach on request and based on availability. As Paula noted, even a single block can feel like a ride worth taking. Complimentary bikes are part of the amenity fee as well, if you would rather pedal toward downtown.
A genuine classic, the turquoise Thunderbird only leaves the property for vintage car events.The resort’s vintage Thunderbird, badged for La Fuga, greets guests out front like a piece of rolling art.Styled like classic 1950s cruisers, the resort’s golf carts shuttle guests the short ride to the beach on request.
Wellness is built into the stay. Daily yoga takes place on the beach each morning, weather permitting, staged right in front of the Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort next door, and it is part of the resort’s amenity offerings. As a Kimpton property, the brand’s signature touches are all here, including complimentary coffee, tea, water, and cold brew set up in the lobby every morning, and the evening social hour from 5 to 6 p.m. at La Fuga, where guests are served a complimentary cocktail during the restaurant’s happy hour.
A cocktail at the Escape Rooftop Bar, “serving sunsets” and named in homage to the property’s original 1949 identity.
That social hour is more than a perk. It reflects a brand philosophy.
“Kimpton as a brand wants to motivate people to mingle and be more social rather than just on their phones. That is why in every IHG property, you are going to find a social hour.” — Paula Hodges, Executive Meeting Manager
La Fuga and the Escape Rooftop Bar
If there is a culinary heart to the hotel, it is La Fuga, and the origin story is a happy accident. When Chef Michael Mayer first stepped into the kitchen to develop the concept, he took one look at the built-in pizza oven and concluded that this was going to be an Italian restaurant. He went on to make the pizzas, flatbreads, and pastas from scratch.
Dinner at La Fuga, where the intercoastal Italian menu leans into local seafood and Italian classics.A whole roasted fish, dressed with tomatoes and pine nuts, reflects La Fuga’s intercoastal take on Italian cooking.Bruschetta, one of the menu’s long-standing staples, plated on hand-patterned ceramics.
To shape the menu, Mayer traveled to Italy and took an intercoastal adventure of his own, which is why La Fuga calls itself intercoastal Italian fare rather than a standard pasta house. Alongside comforts like bruschetta and chicken cacciatore, you will find fish, veal, and meat dishes that lean into Fort Lauderdale’s love of the sea.
La Fuga by Michael Mayer, named for the Italian word for “escape,” a nod to the hotel’s 1949 origins.The menu spans scratch-made pizzas and pastas alongside fish, veal, and Italian staples like bruschetta and chicken cacciatore.
The kitchen’s work has been recognized too. The restaurant earned a Food & Wine accolade in 2024, and it has been honored for one of the best wine lists in Fort Lauderdale.
La Fuga earned the 2024 Orange Bowl Food & Wine Celebration People’s Choice Award for Best Bite.
Cap the evening at the Escape Rooftop Bar, another nod to the 1949 original name, where craft cocktails meet coastal breezes and Intracoastal views.
Craft cocktails and wine arrive in etched, vintage-style glassware that suits the retro setting.
Quiet Corners: The Zen Garden, Jazz, and Retreat Energy
One of the things that makes Kimpton Shorebreak special is its contradiction. It sits a block from all the hustle and bustle, yet it stays remarkably quiet and full of greenery. It is the rare beach hotel that works beautifully for a retreat, a place where you can finally exhale.
Tropical ferns, string lights, and a wood deck turn the courtyard garden into a quiet retreat, even a block from the action.
The Zen Garden is the clearest expression of that. Tucked along one side of the building, it is designed for reading a book or simply staying still, and groups often request that wing so they can claim the space for themselves.
A serene corner with mid-century chairs and terrazzo floors, perfect for reading a book and unwinding in the greenery.
The social calendar leans toward atmosphere over volume. Jazz entertainment plays on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays in high season, scaling back to Saturdays in low season, sometimes a single vocalist and sometimes a jazz or string quartet. The lounge doubles as an event space, and during the day it is where the complimentary social hour unfolds at the bar.
Pet-Friendly, and the Practical Details
True to Kimpton brand standards, Kimpton Shorebreak welcomes pets at no extra fee, and the policy comes with the most charming size guideline I have heard.
“If it fits into the elevator, they can stay.” — Paula Hodges, Executive Meeting Manager
A few logistics are worth knowing before you book. The property offers valet parking only, served by a one-floor parking garage, and complimentary Wi-Fi runs throughout. As for how it all fits together, Paula described a clear three-part structure: the ownership group, the management company, and the Kimpton brand standards the team follows under the IHG umbrella. The Kimpton Shorebreak name signals a boutique property within IHG, and between its size and its character, boutique is the right word. One more piece of trivia for the curious: the Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort next door shares the same ownership and management.
Shade sails, a hammock, and a sandy lounge turn the central courtyard into a quiet, playful retreat.
Planning Your Stay
The location is a quiet advantage. You are close to the action but tucked away from it, a short walk to the sand and surf and an easy bike ride to Fort Lauderdale’s downtown and the boutiques and cafes of Las Olas Boulevard. For couples, design-minded travelers, and small groups who want a stylish, low-key base, Kimpton Shorebreak hits a sweet spot that bigger beachfront towers cannot.
Taking in the Intracoastal views from the rooftop terrace, with the Fort Lauderdale skyline in the distance.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Kimpton Shorebreak Fort Lauderdale open, and what was it originally called?
The property was built in 1949 and originally opened as the Escape Hotel. It was among the first in the area to feature an Olympic-sized pool and air conditioning in every unit, open year-round. Today’s restaurant, La Fuga, and rooftop bar, Escape, both pay homage to that original name.
How many rooms does Kimpton Shorebreak have, and what are the room types?
There are 96 rooms across three categories: Essentials, Premiums, and two Junior Suites. The categories differ only in square footage, while every other amenity and finish stays the same. The two Junior Suites are corner units of roughly 500 to 540 square feet, and one is especially popular as a bridal or honeymoon suite.
Is Kimpton Shorebreak Fort Lauderdale pet-friendly?
Yes. In keeping with Kimpton brand standards, pets stay at no extra fee. The team’s playful rule of thumb is that if your pet fits in the elevator, it can stay.
How far is the hotel from Fort Lauderdale Beach?
It sits about a block from the beach, with a dedicated lounger area, a beach bag and towel in every room, daily beachfront yoga when the weather cooperates, and a vintage-Thunderbird-style golf cart that can take guests to the sand on request.
What is there to eat and drink on-site?
La Fuga serves intercoastal Italian cuisine by Chef Michael Mayer, including scratch-made pizzas, flatbreads, and pastas, plus fish, veal, and meat dishes. It earned a Food & Wine accolade in 2024 and recognition for one of Fort Lauderdale’s best wine lists. The Escape Rooftop Bar offers craft cocktails with Intracoastal views, and there is a complimentary daily social hour from 5 to 6 p.m.
Is parking available?
The property offers valet parking only, served by a one-floor parking garage.
What complimentary amenities are included?
Property-wide Wi-Fi, complimentary morning coffee, tea, water, and cold brew in the lobby, a daily social hour, complimentary bikes as part of the amenity fee, and in-room touches that include a steamer, yoga mat, bathrobe, Bluetooth speaker, mini fridge, two daily waters, and a stocked beach bag.
Many Lives, One Timeless Escape
Kimpton Shorebreak Fort Lauderdale shows how a building can live many lives and still find its truest self. From a 1949 swimming-pool pioneer to today’s retro-vintage hideaway, it honors its past without being trapped by it, preserving the original flooring while reimagining everything around it and naming its bar and restaurant for the escape it has always promised.
For travelers who believe a hotel should be a destination in its own right, this little Art Deco gem a block from the beach is the kind of design story worth checking into.
Karen LeBlanc is a freelance writer living in Orlando, Florida with many published bylines in magazines, newspapers, and multimedia sites. As a professional lifestyle writer, Karen specializes in art, architecture, design, home interiors and personality profiles.
Karen is the writer, producer and host of the streaming series, The Design Tourist (www.TheDesignTourist.com) that brings viewers a global dose of design inspiration with episodes featuring the latest looks and trends from the world’s premiere design events and shows. She also publishes a quarterly magazine on design travel that you can read by clicking the link: https://thedesigntourist.com/the-magazine/
Her journalism background includes seven years on-air experience as a TV news reporter and anchor covering a range of issues from education to politics. Her educational credentials include a Master of Arts in Mass Communications from Northeast Louisiana University and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Louisiana State University.
Throughout her career, Karen has written and produced dozens of documentaries and videos for educational, commercial, corporate, and governmental clients and appeared in many TV and video productions as a professional host.
Karen LeBlanc is an award-winning travel journalist and storyteller, honored with two Telly Awards and four North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) awards for The Design Tourist travel show. As the show’s host, producer, and writer, Karen takes viewers beyond the guidebooks to explore the culture, craft, cuisine, and creativity that define the world’s most fascinating destinations.
