VERO BEACH, Fla. -- When music icon Gloria Estefan purchased and remodeled her first hotel outside Miami-Dade County, she bypassed trendy haunts and the forever-regal Palm Beach in favor of quieter, less well-known Vero Beach. Her 94-room Costa D' Este Beach Resort is slated to open by early summer.

Estefan isn't alone. The stylish Caribbean Court Boutique Hotel opened last summer, complete with luxury amenities, an award-winning chef and the popular Havana Nights piano bar.

And the stately, West Indian-flavored Vero Beach Hotel and Club opened earlier this year late last year; the 83-room oceanfront resort recently was awarded a four-diamond rating from AAA.

Though Vero boasts beautiful homes, mansion developments and chic country clubs, "from a hotel standpoint, there wasn't anything that was really comparable to the level of taste and sophistication that the rest of Vero enjoys," said Peter Serena, Vero Beach Hotel's general manager.

The days of "Zero Beach," as the town was dubbed during more staid times, are over. A flurry of building hit Vero in the aftermath of two serious hurricanes in 2004. Upgrades include recent expansions to the Riverside Theatre, which hosts performances and speakers like businessman Steve Forbes and comedian Paula Poundstone, and Vero Beach Museum of Art, currently hosting an exhibition of portraits by John Singer Sargent, Alex Katz and other American artists.

Yet this seaside town is still a cozy village where hotels are about the only towers allowed. People come not because it's anything like the rest of Florida, but because it isn't.

Vero "is like Florida used to be" said recent visitor Dawn Hirsch of West Palm Beach.

Meticulously tended flower beds edge Ocean Drive, where upscale shops sit just steps from the beach. Live oaks shelter homes and businesses fronted by long grassy carpets. The town has a staunch, timeless feel about it -- much as it must have when Waldo Sexton built his famously funky Driftwood Resort here in 1935.

The Driftwood's beachfront restaurant, Waldo's, still packs in the locals and tourists alike, as does the long-popular Ocean Grille that overhangs the beach. The barrier island's western edge, on the Indian River, is dotted with breezy seafood eateries. West across the bridge sits the smartly restored downtown, less glamorous than the eastern shore but home to good restaurants and shops.

The area's quiet money quotient -- Wilmington Trust, Northern Trust, AG Edwards, Edward Jones and Mellon Wealth Management all have offices here -- spills into community amenities that serve tourists, too. Along with the Art Museum and theater are nature attractions like the Environmental Learning Center, McKee Botanical Gardens and Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge -- the first in the nation.

And then there are the people.

"You go up there and people are just nice, they are pleasant," Maria Fioravante, who lives with her family in Coral Gables and has a home north of Vero Beach.

WHERE TO STAY

• Vero Beach Hotel and Club, 3500 Ocean Dr., 772-231-5666, www.verobeachhotelandclub.com. Opened late last year, this beachfront resort offers 83 rooms and suites with a West Indies flavor. Amenities include fitness center. A spa will open late this year. Its Indigo Room restaurant has quickly become a hot spot (entrees $10-$40). Rates from $179 in summer, $269 in winter.

• Caribbean Court Boutique Hotel, 1605 Ocean Dr., 772-231-7211, www.thecaribbeancourt.com. This quaint courtyard hotel is set in a lush garden and features a piano bar, Havana Nights, and the acclaimed Maison Martinique restaurant (entrees $22-$40). Each of the 18 rooms is distinctly appointed with antiques. Rates from $139 in summer and fall, $239 in winter.

• The Driftwood Inn, 3150 Ocean Dr., 772-231-0550, www.thedriftwood.com. The famously funky beachfront lodging dates from 1935; though it is now a timeshare resort rooms are still offered to hotel guests. Rates from $90 in summer and fall, from $120 in winter.

MORE DINING

• Ocean Grill, 1050 Sexton Plaza, 772-231- 5409, www.ocean-grill.com. This waterfront icon is justly famous for its fish, beef and Coquilles St. Jacques -- and its windows on the Atlantic Ocean. Dinner entrees, $20.95-$34.95.

• The Tides, 3103 Cardinal Dr., 772-234- 3966, www.tidesofvero.com. One of Vero Beach's best known fine-dining venues, popular for fish and beef. Entrees, $18-$38.

• Pomodoro Grill, 3055 Cardinal Dr., 772- 234-1123, www.pomodorogrilltrattoria.com. Italian specialties with a Florida twist. Entrees, $12.95-$39.95.

• Riverside Cafe, 1 Beachland Blvd., at the foot of the Barber Bridge, 772-234-5550, www.riversidecafe.net. Casual, breezy riverside eatery with good seafood and often, live music. Entrees, $8-$22.

ATTRACTIONS

• Riverside Theatre, 772-321-6990 or 800-445-6745, www.riversidetheatre.com. Located in a sprawling 51-acre riverside park, the theater was recently expanded and a second, smaller theatre is now open. Riverside's playbill hits its peak in the winter.

• Vero Beach Museum of Art, 772-231- 0707, www.vbmuseum.org. First-rate exhibits and a Barry Flanagan sculpture garden. Free admission (some special exhibitions have a variable fee)

• McKee Botanical Garden, 772-794-0601, www.mckeegarden.org. 18-acres of a rare hammock in a unique subtropical setting. Admission, $6 adults, $3.50 ages 5-12.

• Environmental Learning Center, 772- 589-5050, www.elcweb.org. Hands-on exhibits on the delicate coastal habitat.

• Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, 772-562-3909 ext.275, www.fws.gov/pelicanisland. Created to protect pelicans from feather merchants, this was the first wildlife refuge in the nation. It now has an extensive nature walk and a spacious observation toward to look at the island itself. Free admission.

COSTA D'ESTE

The Estefans' chic new hotel, set to open early this summer, calls itself a "personal luxury resort" that is part of the Benchmark hotels group. Amenities include fitness center, spa and the Oriente restaurant featuring Cuban cuisine with Spanish and Creole touches. Room rates will start at $199 in low season and $249 in high season, though introductory rates may be offered.

--Info: 772-562-9919, www.costadeste.com.

INFORMATION

• Indian River County Chamber of Commerce, 772-567-3491, www.indianriverchamber.com.