Luxury has always been defined a little differently in the Florida Keys, where independent hotels rule with a more laidback style. So, when the storied Cheeca Lodge and Spa on Islamorada recently reopened after a $30-million renovation, it opted for sexy new soaking tubs and poolside cabanas over St. Regis-style butlers, who might seem, well, a tad overdressed here.

Islamorada’s oldest resort, Cheeca is one of the grande dames of the Keys, having hosted several presidents from its very first guest, Harry Truman, to its present-day fan George H.W. Bush. The latter co-hosts an annual fishing tournament with the lodge. (Cheeca’s current Texan owners have even named the most luxurious suite after the 41st president.) In 1946 the property began life as The Olney Inn and was dubbed Cheeca in 1962 by its then-owners A&P grocery heiress Cynthia “Chee” Twitchell and her husband Carl (the hotel’s name is an amalgamation of their own). Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward were among the stars who visited.

Those were the days when Islamorada began cultivating its reputation as the sportfishing capital it is today. You can cast a line for marlin and tuna right off Cheeca’s 525-foot-long fishing pier (the longest in the Keys). Sixty-two new rooms in Cheeca’s main lodge have terraces that overlook the pier and the ocean, or the island. At 840 square feet, the guest rooms are the roomiest in the Keys, and come with outdoor soaking tubs so newfangled we needed instructions on how to use them (hint: the control knob is in the indoor shower, and water descends into the tub from the ceiling).

But these modern touches don’t completely define the new Cheeca, whose overall décor has a colonial West-Indies feel. The new members-only Club Bar offers a Hemingway-esque seafaring motif (this is the Keys, after all), with dark wood paneling, antique maps and a hand-painted mural of the Keys across the ceiling. The bar leads out to a private sundeck with a water wall and cabanas. Waterfalls also surround the spa with seven treatment rooms and a lap pool.

With a fresh look and new staff, Cheeca still has a few kinks to iron out. Expect a glass of bubbly on arrival, but don’t count on reliable turndown service yet. Still, it’s clear the staff is eager to please. Immediately after Cheeca rose from the ashes (quite literally: the renovation proceeded after a fire engulfed the main lodge on New Year’s Eve 2008), they invited back the English couple whose New Year’s wedding had unexpectedly gone up flames.