HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — Hip-hoppers, movie stars and fashion models gravitate to South Beach. Social butterflies land in Palm Beach. Halfway between is Hollywood beach, a friendly, kick-back, melting pot kind of place swimmingly connected by a 2 1/2-mile broadwalk.

Although it was patterned after Atlantic City, N.J.'s famed pathway, Hollywood's 27-foot-wide promenade is made of concrete, not boards — which is why it is not a boardwalk. The trail is comfortably shared by walkers, bike riders, in-line skatersand people-watchers.

MARY THURWACHTER/Palm Beach [Fla.] Post (ENLARGE)
Hollywood native Dean Liotta purchased this 1925 building five years ago and turned it into the Hollywood by the Sea Bed & Breakfast.
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IF YOU GO Getting there • Expect to pay about $250 roundtrip for airfare to Miami. From I-95, exit at Hollywood Boulevard and continue east through historic downtown Hollywood and halfway around Young Circle to the beach; go over the Hollywood Boulevard Bridge, drive south three blocks to Jackson Street and turn left. The B&B is at the end of the street, a yellow two-story building with a fish mailbox. About the inn • Hollywood By the Sea Bed & Breakfast, 301 Jackson St., Hollywood, Fla. 33019. 1-866-927-5301; Web site. The inn has eight rooms, each with its own theme and private bath; heated pool; steps to the beach; refrigerators, personal safes and DSL access in each room. Rates: $79-$139, low season; $129-$179, high season.

Known for its mom-and-pop hotels, outdoor lounges, seaside souvenir shops and old bandshell, Hollywood beach is a magnet for people from all kinds of places. There are folks from Canada, Europe, Latin America. There are retirees and young working people, families and romantic couples walking hand in hand.

When the sun sets, there are bars and restaurants for every taste and free music on tap at the Johnson Street Bandshell.

It is an unpretentious, palm tree-lined shoreline enjoying a bit of a renaissance.

Dean Liotta, a Hollywood native and entrepreneur, is doing his part to improve the area. Five years ago, he bought a decrepit 1925 building just steps from the beach on Jackson Street and transformed it into Hollywood by the Sea Bed & Breakfast.

Liotta hadn't spent a single night in a bed-and-breakfast anywhere until a girlfriend suggested he turn his abandoned building into a B&B. Liotta's friend took him to St. Augustine, a town known for its historic inns, and the pair toured 20 of them.

After the tour, Liotta, who had first planned to turn the two-story building, once home to World War II novelist James Jones ("From Here to Eternity"), into four apartments, agreed to become an innkeeper.

Turning the 4,200-square-foot building into an bed-and-breakfast was an uphill undertaking, he said. He added a modern kitchen, heated swimming pool, central air and a combination of eclectic furnishings he rounded up from antique and collectible shows and yard sales.

A large mermaid, rescued from a friend's junk pile, rests among family photographs on a piano in the living room. A chair sporting a likeness of Betty Boop brightens a bedroom. And beside the pool, the snoot of a sculptured dog serves as an inner tube holder.

Each of the eight themed rooms has its own tiled bathroom, television with satellite dish access and individually controlled air conditioning. Many of the suites have private balconies or decks overlooking gardens or the pool. Others have views of the Atlantic Ocean.

We stayed in Marguerite's Room, a quiet, first-floor, corner room with private patio. Old Florida flamingo artwork served as a backdrop to an Art Deco vanity, armoire, mirror and comfortable king-size bed. There were fresh flowers on the vanity.

Breakfast, prepared by Liotta, included pancakes and fresh fruit and was served in the kitchen. For dinner, we followed the broadwalk a few blocks north to Las Brisas Argentinean Steak House. Besides great steak and excellent service, we were entertained by chef/owner Alberto Galan, a native of Buenos Aires.

Eateries like Las Brisas and places like Hollywood By the Sea Bed & Breakfast are good reasons to make Hollywood beach a getaway destination. So is the broadwalk, where people-watching is first-rate.

E-mail Thurwachter at mary_thurwachter@pbpost.com