The 16 Best Luxury Hotels and Resorts in Miami, Florida

Miami has grown far beyond its reputation as a beachfront vacation land. Over the past couple of decades, it’s become a hub for world-class art, Michelin-starred restaurants, and cultural institutions, located all over the city.

Miami’s hotels continue to evolve, too. As its neighborhoods become destinations unto themselves, they’ve welcomed well-appointed boutique hotels that are equally as alluring as the grand resorts on the beach. For Afar’s Hotels We Love series, we’ve selected the 16 best hotels in Miami and Miami Beach for different kinds of travelers, whether you’re in town for business or on a long weekend break in search of winter sun and vibrant culture.

1 Hotel South Beach

It’s hard to make a splash in flamboyant South Beach, but when it debuted in 2015, the 1 Hotel South Beach managed to make a mark—not with opulence, but rather with eco-consciousness. The hotel, with its spacious Bamford spa, has become a hub for wellness-focused travelers who love its environmentally friendly features like salvaged wood, living plant walls, and bulk toiletries. The four pools include an adults-only one on the roof with ocean views, and guests also have access to the 1 Hotel’s Tala Beach Club, a 50,000-square-foot beachside spot adorned in tropical foliage and weathered-wood furnishings.

Rooms here are massive, with the smallest starting at 700 square feet. White and beige rule the color palette, with rattan and wood accents for a beachy feel. Also included are hemp mattresses covered in organic sheets, chalkboards instead of wasteful pads of paper, and take-home socks in place of disposable slippers. There’s a yoga mat in every room, should you feel so inclined, though you could also head down to the massive fitness complex or yoga deck.

If you’re feeling peckish, buy a snack at the lobby farm stand, or head up to the rooftop at Watr, where a menu of sushi and light entrées like hotpot rice and chicken karaage come with a panoramic view of the city. Downstairs, chef Michael Solomov’s Aviv serves Israeli-inspired cuisine, with monthly hummus-making classes hosted by the chef himself.

Acqualina Resort and Residences

While some might balk at Acqualina Resort‘s location in far-flung Sunny Isles, if you came to Miami to play on the beach, eat world-class food, and surround yourself in European luxury, you’ll have no reason to leave. Acqualina has gained acclaim largely due to its 1,100-square-foot guest rooms. Each of the 98 rooms has a full kitchen with a gas range and stainless steel appliances, allowing you to prepare breakfast; you enjoy it in a nook over the water. Separate dens provide for extended stays and remote work, while marble bathrooms with rain showers and soaking tubs feel like in-room spas. Each floor has only four rooms, so there are no hallways or crowded elevators.

Acqualina’s pools have fountains and design touches inspired by the Côte d’Azur, offering a secluded escape from the beach-going masses. If you want to get out on the sand, stroll down the resort’s red carpet to the water, where private lounge chairs await. After a long day of sun-soaking, turn right off the lobby and linger over dinner at Il Mulino New York (currently closed for renovations but reopening later in 2026). For a change of pace, guests can head next door to the residences building and check out Avra, a Greek-seafood fine-dining spot with a fresh fish market in the dining room.

Biltmore Hotel

George Merrick’s original Mediterranean revival masterpiece still stands as one of Miami’s grandest hotels, a tribute to fine design and intricate detail. The Biltmore opened in 1926 and despite the Great Depression still thrived as a winter getaway for the elite. Its 18-hole golf course is a big reason why; most guests here have booked a tee time. If golf isn’t your game, lounge by the Biltmore’s sprawling lagoon pool. During its original years, the 600,000-gallon pool was a celebrity hangout for the likes of Judy Garland and Olympic swimmer Johnny Weissmuller.

Its 271 rooms have kept pace with the times, although you’ll still find nods to the old days like gold trim, velvet upholstery, and framed fine art. It’s a level of early-20th-century luxury rarely found in South Florida and adds sophistication to any Miami vacation. Ask any concierge about the hotel’s haunted history, which adds a level of spooky lore to your stay.

Carillon Miami Wellness Resort

Plenty of luxury hotels pay lip service to their “wellness” offerings. The Carillon, however, makes it nearly impossible to leave without feeling healthy. The resort resembles a massive spa, from the jasmine-and-citrus scented lobby to the soft linens in guest rooms. Each of its 88 rooms is either a one- or two-bedroom apartment, ranging from 720 to 1,200 square feet, where you can cook your own healthy food and savor it on your balcony.

While the balmy environs are rejuvenating, the big draw at Carillon is its spa, a multilevel masterpiece where you can choose from an array of treatments. Immerse yourself in a warm water chamber shaped like an egg, or undergo sensory deprivation in a private lounge. After your day of pampering, head into Tristan Brandt’s Michelin-starred Tambourine Room, where a French tasting menu awaits. For something more casual, head to the beachside pool and order a fresh-pressed juice or organic salad.

Faena Hotel Miami Beach

Fashion designer and art connoisseur Alan Faena first made his name in hotels with a Phillipe Starck–designed property in Buenos Aires in 2004. He brought the concept to Miami on a grander scale, creating an entire district of art and hospitality out of dilapidated art deco high rises. The centerpiece is the Faena Hotel, whose lobby welcomes guests with a sea of gold leaf and murals, leading to a gilded mammoth skeleton on the back patio. The hotel is as much an attraction as it is a place to stay, where the theater hosts burlesque performances and a menu at Fuego features melt-in-your-mouth steaks by noted Argentine chef Francis Mallmann.

The 179 guest rooms keep the aura of overstated elegance, where ocean views are complemented by tiger-print throw pillows and deep red curtains. By South Beach standards, the rooms are big: Entry-level accommodations start at almost 500 square feet. Faena serves to show the world that Miami has moved past its days of tacky luxury and serves as a symbol of the city’s place in the modern art world.

Four Seasons Surf Club

During Miami’s original heyday as a playground for wealthy northerners, the Surf Club served as a social hub where posh people basked in the sun beside the Mediterranean revival main building. Much of the original 1930 club has been restored by the Four Seasons, and a walk under the wooden beams and arched ceilings feels like a step back to a bygone era. Look for original ceiling frescoes in the lobby. Patrons enjoy fine wine at the hotel’s swanky Champagne Bar outside Lido, which brings white-tablecloth fine Italian dining to the shoreline.

No conversation about the Four Seasons is complete without a nod to Thomas Keller’s Surf Club restaurant, which received one of Miami’s first Michelin stars. While the dining experience is phenomenal, the hotel’s main attraction is still its rooms. The 77 oversize, modern spaces offer floor-to-ceiling ocean and bay views, with white marble bathrooms and fine linens. They’re the kind of place where you wake up and immediately realize you’re on a luxury beach vacation, setting a relaxing tone for the day.

JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa

The JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa has gained acclaim for its championship golf course, which also hosts the Miami Dolphins’ annual charity tournament. It put itself on the family travel map with its addition of Tidal Cove, an on-site water park that combines a chic Miami pool scene with the high-speed fun of careening waterslides. So you can live like a kid for a few hours, with the added advantage of grown-up beverages.

After your wet and wild fun, retreat to Bourbon Steak, chef Michael Mina’s outpost filled with prime beef and rare bourbons. Guests can also sample new American fare at Corsair Kitchen and Bar, a more casual spot perfect for lunch between rounds. For a nightcap, enjoy a cocktail at Soff’s Lobby Lounge, a dark leather-clad space designed to transport guests back to Miami of a century ago. Then wake up in the morning for your tee time at Turnberry, where only hotel guests and club members are allowed to play.

Mayfair House Hotel and Garden

Few hotels in Miami serve as microcosms of their neighborhoods quite like the storied Mayfair House. The longtime Coconut Grove icon got a major facelift in 2024, and the new version harkens back to its original splendor where thick tropical foliage and bubbling fountains fill the spacious center courtyard. Sitting outside is almost meditative, bringing you into the green environs of Coconut Grove before you ever venture outside.

Rooms also bring back classic Miami color, eschewing the modern trend of grays and whites for bright blues, oranges, and greens. The rooftop bar, SipSip, is a tribute to the neighborhood’s Bahamian heritage, where you can enjoy rum cocktails and conch fritters poolside, with a panoramic view of Biscayne Bay. Downstairs, chef Giorgio Rapicavoli, a winner on Chopped, leads the kitchen at Mayfair Grill, a wood-fired restaurant where steaks, seafood, and even the flatbread take on a smoky aroma. If that’s not for you, Mayfair House is a two-minute walk from the heart of Coconut Grove, where you can dine, shop, and bar hop.

Moore Hotel

If you’re going to open a hotel in the heart of Miami’s Design District, the design had better be something special. The Moore Hotel—situated in the historic 1922 Moore Building—delivers, decking out each of its 15 suites in custom, midcentury-inspired furniture that blends beachy tones with 1950s style. Everything from curved wardrobes and dressers to chikee hut ceilings made with natural palm brings to mind another time and place, but somehow without feeling cheesy or purposefully themed.

As impressive as the rooms are, staying at the Moore is also about exploring the space. The second and third floors of the building are a private members club, where you can enjoy an impressive collection of modern art (the Monet-inspired Muppets are a must-see), as well as a speakeasy bar, a coworking space, and plenty of comfortable oversize couches. Venture down another level, past Zaha Hadid’s Elastika sculpture, and you’re in Tonro Subbito, renowned Italian chef Massimo Bottura’s Miami outpost.

Mr. C Miami

From the team that created the Bellini cocktail at Harry’s Bar in Venice and brought chain restaurants to the jet set with Cipriani, this Coconut Grove hotel is a tribute to Europe at its most refined. Here, long hallways of polished wood suggest an Italian luxury ship. The rooms have porthole windows and nautical sketches, and balconies offer semi-private outdoor escapes.

Mr. C shines on its rooftop, where a long pool offers views out over the bay and the Miami skyline. After you’ve soaked up your panorama of Peacock Park, try Bellini, the hotel’s signature restaurant. It feels a little like a 1920s Parisian cocktail bar. You can order a Bellini for nostalgia’s sake, but once seated, you’d be remiss not to have the bucatini cacio e pepe, a silky staple that showcases how simple dishes with a handful of ingredients can still be gourmet.

The Palms Hotel & Spa

So much of the Miami Beach experience is about blue and white: the warm blue of the sky and ocean, the sparkling white of its iconic art deco buildings. The Palms Hotel & Spa (a 1922 resort designed by Roy F. France, one of the architects behind Miami Beach’s art deco skyline) offers both, but adds a welcome dose of green. That comes in the form of green foliage throughout its peaceful lobby, pool deck, and 1.5 acres of gardens and lawns—and in a behind-the-scenes commitment to sustainability. (The hotel is part of the Beyond Green network, Green Globe certified, and recently earned four Green Keys from Green Key Global.)

Guests may not notice the composting program, eco-friendly plumbing, or sustainably sourced restaurant food, but they will notice the tropical deco design, the serene wellness-forward vibe, and staff who seem to remember every guest’s name. The 247 rooms are awash in bright whites, light and dark woods, and turquoise accents that echo the sea outside (oceanfront rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows).

The spa is an Aveda outpost with ayurvedic-inspired treatments and vegan products—don’t miss a massage in a private outdoor jungle nook. The bar serves cocktails made with organic and artisanal spirits, alongside an organic wine list. None of this demands attention—the only thing this hotel wants you to do is embrace relaxation. That comes easily, whether you’re at the spa, lounging on the beach with a glass of rosé, snacking on poolside gelato, or getting ready for a night out in South Beach, just 10 minutes away by car or free city tram.—Billie Cohen

Pelican Hotel

You’d be forgiven for dismissing an Ocean Drive hotel with themed rooms as a special brand of Florida tacky. But we assure you, the Pelican is quite the opposite, thanks to the exquisite taste of Diesel founder Renzo Rosso. When Rosso took over the Pelican, he adorned each of its 33 rooms in fun, colorful themes. You can immerse yourself in the Mad Men–era ’60s executive suite, with a corner view of the ocean. There’s also an aviation-themed suite with furniture crafted from airplane parts, a western room with wood beams, and a jungle suite that we can only assume was inspired by the bedroom of The Golden Girls’ Blanche Devereaux.

What’s exceptional about the Pelican is it does all this along Miami’s most iconic street, Ocean Drive. And staying here means you’re literally less than a minute from the sand, or the Muscle Beach gym equipment in Lummus Park across the street. The Pelican Café, much like the hotel it occupies, bucks every Ocean Drive stereotype by offering well-executed house made pastas and fresh seafood. There’s also a chic upstairs speakeasy in Room 55, the perfect place for an in-the-know nightcap.

Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne

They call Key Biscayne “the Island Paradise,” and this Ritz-Carlton is befitting of a place with such a name. The property looms like a castle above this little island off downtown Miami. At this exclusive getaway, guests can enjoy the hotel’s private powder sand beach or walk up the shore to the palm-lined Crandon Park. All 421 rooms were redone as part of a $100 million renovation in 2025, each with at least a partial view of the ocean. The newly designed bathrooms are done up in stone, with walk-in showers and separate soaking tubs.

The hotel also added a host of new food and beverage concepts, most alluring among them the Dune Bar. The new beach bar sits, as the name suggests, in the center of beachside sand dunes, where you can enjoy colorful cocktails with your toes in the sand, gazing out at Biscayne’s turquoise waters. Other new offerings include Luna, with a selection of light Italian food and grilled steaks. You can also opt for the Aegean-inspired Paralia, or a wood-fired pizza at Stefano’s by the pool.

Ritz-Carlton South Beach

Blending beachside luxury with prime location, the Ritz-Carlton South Beach is a top choice for travelers who want to be in the heart of the action. The building it occupies was once the DiLido Hotel, one of the finest designs by Morris Lapidus, maestro of Miami Modern, built in 1953. It underwent a massive renovation earlier this decade, trimming itself to 376 rooms across the historic main tower and lanai suites. The large rooms in beach house hues feel like an extension of the pool deck and beach, with large marble bathrooms and balconies on upper floors.

Foodies will rejoice in José Andrés’s creations all over the property. His centerpiece is Zaytinya, a Middle Eastern poolside restaurant with a menu of spicy grilled meats and fresh seafood. He also created the menu at the exclusive Club Lounge, a 10th-floor space for guests who have upgraded to Club-level access, with a dedicated concierge, fresh juices, and full buffets at each meal. There’s also a pour-your-own Coravin bottles with wines far better than you’d expect, even at the Ritz-Carlton. And if you over-indulge in the Club Lounge, you can reset your senses with daily on-the-sand group fitness classes.

The Rover

Intrepid urban travelers flocking to Little Havana would often have to retreat back to hotels in Miami Beach or Brickell once they were done exploring. That changed with the December 2025 opening of the Rover, an independently owned boutique hotel a block off bustling Calle Ocho. Its 10 rooms are named after South Florida icons like Celia Cruz and Ernest Hemingway. Shelves in the lobby, hallways, and guest rooms contain books about the city, and if you hit Miami on the odd rainy day, you can read in the cozy lobby.

The Rover has snacks and Cuban coffee in the lobby all day, along with a friendly staff that speaks both English and Spanish. Borrow a beach cruiser to explore Little Havana, or walk a block north and take in the sights from the Casa Tiki bar down to the Café La Trova. The Rover even offers a shady, secluded back patio from which to enjoy a requisite Little Havana cigar. It’s Miami’s best urban escape of the moment and gives visitors a chance to immerse themselves in one of the city’s most intriguing areas.

The Setai, Miami Beach

The Setai offers a sophisticated alternative to the frenetic party-time energy of other area properties. It attracts numerous celebrity guests, thanks in part to its attentive and discreet service. While the hotel’s exterior may be somewhat staid, with art deco flourishes that are modest compared with other hotels built in that era, the Setai more than makes up for this in interior design. Somehow avoiding being ostentatious, the hotel still uses ultra-luxurious everything in its 150 rooms: the finest Swedish beds, deluxe Italian linens, deep soaking tubs, and lacquered wood furniture and accessories. The building also includes bookable residences, ideal for extended stays.

The dining at Setai is also notable: Jaya offers upscale South Asian cuisine served among twinkling lights floating atop a reflecting pool. On the weekend, the space transforms into a live jazz stage, where music accompanies a sprawling brunch buffet. Guests can also enjoy dinner at Japon, a fresh sushi spot opposite Jaya in the tranquil, Asian-inspired courtyard.

Additional reporting by Devorah Lev-Tov.