HotelChatter

Click on the webcams icon at the top of the main page and you'll get a choice of cams to peek at: Art Deco; Lincoln Road; Biscayne Bay; Coconut Grove; Sunny Isles; Bayfront Park; and South Beach.

It turns out, most of these webcams are perched on hotels, giving prospective guests a hint of the view they may just score when checking in. (Ask about the view when booking, though--who knows where these cams are positioned in said hotels.)

This view above, for example, was taken from the Art Deco Webcam, which shows the view from the Kardashian-approved Hilton Bentley South Beach, overlooking South Beach near 1st Street and Ocean Drive.

Then there's the Coconut Grove Cam--view from the Sonesta Bayfront Hotel; the Sunny Isles Cam, with an Acqualina Resort & Spa view; and the South Beach Cam, which kinda shows a view from the W South Beach, although it would be better if someone popped down and cleaned the camera lens... (Also: at that size, is the W really a boutique hotel? Discuss!)

Fun of webcam-surfing aside, we tested the database to see what we could find in the following categories: Boutique, South Beach, '$' (the lowest rate option). Surprisingly, we got just one result--the Wyndham Garden South Beach. Which is a decent little hotel, sure, but what about all those other options in the area?

It looks like they fall under the second rate level--$$--where prices range from $85 a night at the Chesterfield to $239 a night at the Standard.

The metrics could use a little tweaking to make the site 100% useful, but until then, there's always a webcam of the beach ...