As if you needed another reason to visit @amaracayresort or @pcoveresort - thank you @billkearney and @freditor305 🙏 🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴he renovation race picked up this year as both Amara Cay (80001 Overseas Hwy., Islamorada; 305-664-0073; amaracayresort.com) and Pelican Cove (84457 Overseas Hwy., Islamorada; 305-664-4435; pelicancovehotel.com) opened after profound gut rebuilds. Amara was once a Hampton Inn with a big Outback Steakhouse. Now it’s an open, airy boho-beachy 110-room hotel with interiors by Edge of Architecture out of Coral Gables. There’s a tongue-in-cheek image of a square grouper on the back bar, earth tones all over the place, wood-finished flooring and a façade of beautiful cypress trunks in the lobby along with really fun basket chairs dangling from the ceiling. The place strikes a nice balance between elevating its environs, and keeping things accessible — families loaf at the pool while hip travelers snag beach chairs and veg out with views of the grass flats — more serene than anything on South Beach. And the property is large enough to support a sophisticated restaurant, Oltremare Ristorante, which plates contemporary Italian fare. Chef Darío Olivera sources clams from Cedar Key, runs up to Key Largo Farmers Market for fresh fish, and is keen on Homestead for produce. Pelican Cove, once an uninspired white-tile kinda place adjacent to the formerly notorious Holiday Isle (slated for a big renovation this fall), was gut-renovated last year and offers 66 rooms in a modernist rustic mood via sandy wood, pops of color, and surprisingly slick walk-in showers done in subway tile. Though not a huge property, it would be pretty easy just to chillax here—they’ve got a marina, a cool little pool area, paddleboards, and Wild & Lime, an eatery geared toward drinking while gazing at the ocean. #amaracay #islamorada #oltremare #pelicancove