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It's - 8C (18F) in New York, you are forced to use two huskies to get to work and every morning you wake up with frostbite.

What else is there to do, but take a quick jaunt to Miami for the weekend to warm up?

Miami may only be a few hours from Manhattan - but its balmy temperatures come as a blessed relief in the bitter winter months.

When in South Beach, there is only one place to stay - at the W Hotel, where you find happiness in between the palm trees and the cocktail lounge. 

Miami lovers: Reality star Bethenny Frankel (left) and Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi grace Miami's beaches

Rooms with a view: The W Hotel occupies a pristine seafront position

Glow with it: The huge swimming pool is one of the W's main attractions

With celebrity clientele wandering up and down Collins Avenue, Bentleys parked outside the nearby 5 star Setai - and more bronzed bikini bodies than the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition, there's a reason why stars love South Beach. 

Bethenny Frankel, Padma Lakshmi and Today's Hoda Kotb are just a few big names who like to swap the New York cold for Miami.

And that's not forgetting December's annual cool-fest, Art Basel, where the rich and the beautiful convene to South Beach, last year ranging from Leonardo DiCaprio, Solange Knowles, Princess Eugenie, Miley Cyrus and model Emily Ratajkowski.

At the W, the decor is nightclub-meets-beach-house, with beautiful white linens draped in light-filled bedrooms – even the cheapest rooms (cheap being a relative term, when prices start at north of $500) are airy, modern and spacious. 

It also houses some impressive artworks, including three pieces by Damien Hirst. 

Miami IS for lovers: Model Nina Agdal and her boyfriend Reid Heidenry on the beach earlier this month 

The couple that vacations together, stays together: Today host Hoda Kotb and her boyfriend, financier Joel Joel Schiffman in Miami in December 2013

Miami comes to life at sunset. There is a real Latin feel to the city – thanks largely to its huge and vibrant Cuban community (over 60 per cent of the population considers Spanish its first language) – which influences everything from music and dance to food and drink.

And there is certainly a nightlife scene, with enough clubs and bars to keep every type of night-owl happy, ranging from showing off at The Delano hotel, raging at the Fontainebleau's LIV club, or sipping Margaritas down a side road.

If you've had enough of sunbathing and wandering up and down Lincoln Road open-air mall (where you'll find J Crew, Zara, Anthropologie and A LOT of fluorescent swimwear) and trying your best to keep your credit cards tucked away, it's worth going off the beaten track.

We jumped into a cab and headed for nearby Wynwood Walls, a 20-minute cab journey from South Beach.

Tropical: The front of the W hotel, South Beach is fringed with Palm trees

The Wynwood Walls was conceived by the late Tony Goldman in 2009. 

He was looking for something big to transform the warehouse district of Wynwood, and he arrived at a simple idea: 'Wynwood's large stock of warehouse buildings, all with no windows, would be my giant canvases to bring to them the greatest street art ever seen in one place.'

Since then, the Wynwood Walls has brought the world's greatest artists working in the graffiti and street art genre to Miami. 

We take a taxi at twilight and by the time we arrived the sun had set, leaving us to wander around and gawp at a beautifully lit expanse of multi-coloured murals.

It's an amazing experience - and you don't need to be an art lover to appreciate the sheer spectacle of it.

Talk a walk down the streets outside and the sidewalks are littered with graffiti as well. Look down and you'll see 'You're the only magic in the city', 'In the end, love will be what saves us all', and 'Sometimes the best way of finding yourself is to let go'. 

Murals: Take a trip to The Wynwood Walls - off the beaten track in Miami 

Graffiti: Street artists present their murals at The Wynwood Walls

We were recommended to try the nearby Butcher Shop - best for beers, burgers and bratwurst and it was worth the trip. But try and be as hungry as you can our waiter told us to try a Bacon Gorgonzola burger, but our stomachs rebelled and said no (there's always a next time).

Speaking of food, we had dinner at Sienna Tavern which taught us that no meal is complete unless it comes with a tiramisu with a coco dusting of a palm tree.

To work off the calories, you can join the early-morning power walkers who pound the boardwalk that runs in between the beach and the hotels along Collins Avenue, or just saunter up and down.

By the time you are packing for the return to freezing climes, a little sunburnt and a lot happy, you'll already be planning your next trip back. 

American classic: Miami's South Beach has an ever-chic appearance

Sandy superstar: South Beach offers plenty of space for sunseekers