Thanks for the detailed answer. I'm very much on the same page as you. Pool would be great, while beach would be nice.
Having only Hyatt status, I've been thinking of Hyatt Regency, which is also 10 minutes to that Chabad, and I could use my anniversary certs. However, Hyatt Centric is only $135, so if I can sell my certs for the right price, I'd opt to be closer to the beach.
Yeah, I think your case Hyatt Centric may be the best bet, considering the low rates, being on the beach, and the fact that it's your first time to MIA (as
yakrot pointed out).
For us, too, it was mostly about getting out of NY and (unlike 90% of our vacations) being able to eat our way through a city, so being on the beach didn't really affect that as we had a car.