Updated October 26, 2026
Photo: Philippe Lasry / Pexels
Travel · Luxury Hotels
Quick Answer
Faena Hotel Miami Beach, Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club and The Setai Miami Beach are the only Miami hotels with Two MICHELIN Keys (2026), and each is a Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star hotel. Faena is #1 in the Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards 2026 Miami list. Beyoncé and Jay-Z have stayed in the Faena Penthouse, according to Forbes Travel Guide. Acqualina and The St. Regis are the other Forbes Five-Star hotels.
- Three hotels hold Two MICHELIN Keys. Faena, The Surf Club and The Setai are the only Miami hotels with Two Keys in 2026.
- Faena leads the readers. It is #1 in the Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards 2026 Miami list.
- The documented celebrity stays are few. Every one reported in this guide comes from a named publication.
- Size varies widely. The Surf Club has 77 guest rooms; The Miami Beach EDITION has 294 rooms and suites.
Miami’s most celebrated hotels no longer compete on reputation alone, and the 2026 ratings separate them.
This guide ranks nothing by money. It works from the independent 2026 ratings (Forbes Travel Guide stars, MICHELIN Keys, AAA Five Diamond) and who has stayed where. Ten hotels, from Surfside and Bal Harbour to Brickell, Key Biscayne and Coconut Grove. For the wider retreat question, see our guide to Florida’s most exclusive retreats.
Miami’s Luxury Hotels at a Glance
Ten hotels, three rating systems: Forbes Travel Guide awards stars, the MICHELIN Guide hands out Keys, AAA keeps the Five Diamond list.
| Hotel | Area | Forbes Travel Guide 2026 | MICHELIN Keys 2026 | AAA Five Diamond 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Faena Hotel Miami Beach | Mid-Beach | Five-Star | Two Keys | No |
| Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club | Surfside | Five-Star | Two Keys | Yes |
| The Setai Miami Beach | South Beach | Five-Star | Two Keys | Yes |
| The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort | Bal Harbour | Five-Star | None | No |
| Acqualina Resort & Residences | Sunny Isles Beach | Five-Star | None | Yes |
| Four Seasons Hotel Miami | Brickell | Four-Star | None | No |
| The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, Miami | Key Biscayne | Four-Star | None | No |
| The Miami Beach EDITION | Miami Beach | Four-Star | None | No |
| Mr. C Miami Coconut Grove | Coconut Grove | Recommended | One Key | No |
| 1 Hotel South Beach | South Beach | Recommended | One Key | No |
Forbes Travel Guide 2026 Star Awards, MICHELIN Guide Key selection announced September 18, 2026, and AAA Five Diamond Hotels 2026. “No” and “None” mean not on that list.
The Two-Key Trio
Three Miami hotels hold Two MICHELIN Keys, and all three also carry the Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star award.
Faena Hotel Miami Beach: Mid-Beach
Faena counts 179 rooms, according to Forbes Travel Guide (2025). Its Faena Penthouse runs 14,507 square feet over two stories. Forbes Travel Guide reported that Beyoncé and Jay-Z have stayed in it, and The Globe and Mail reported in 2016 that Madonna stayed on three floors of the hotel.
Faena Theater, inspired by European opera houses, has hosted Madonna, Billy Joel, Alicia Keys and Bon Jovi, and Damien Hirst’s gilded woolly mammoth skeleton stands in the courtyard. Los Fuegos by Francis Mallmann cooks over open fire and scores 4.20, a shared rank 7 and a perfect 5.0 on space, in the Mandale Miami Luxury Dining Index Q4 2026. For the wider open-fire argument, read our luxury steakhouses guide. Pao by Paul Qui and the Tierra Santa Healing House spa are Forbes Four-Star for 2026, and Faena is #1 in the Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards 2026 Miami list, scoring 99.56.
Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club: Surfside
The Surf Club opened on New Year’s Eve 1930 as a social club conceived by tire tycoon Harvey Firestone, and the Four Seasons, which opened here in 2017, lists the club’s guests in its own history, including Noel Coward, Elizabeth Taylor, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and Frank Sinatra. Travel + Leisure reported in March 2022 that Winston Churchill painted a beach scene during one of his visits.
The hotel carries 77 guest rooms and 25 hotel residences, with three buildings by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Richard Meier framing the 1930 clubhouse and interiors by Joseph Dirand. There are three pools: a family pool, a quiet pool for adults only and a cabana pool for day-cabana guests. The Surf Club Restaurant holds one Michelin star for 2026 and scores 4.20, a shared rank 7, in the Q4 Index, while Lido Restaurant is Forbes Four-Star and The Spa a Forbes Five-Star spa for 2026. The hotel holds Forbes Five-Star, Two MICHELIN Keys and AAA Five Diamond, and is #2 in the Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards 2026 Miami list, scoring 99.16.
The Setai Miami Beach: South Beach
The Setai holds 157 accommodations in a landmark building combining Asian influences with Miami Beach Art Deco heritage, and charges no resort fee. Three pools sit at three temperatures: a lap pool at 75F, a central lounge pool at 85F and a family pool at 90F. Dining runs from Jaya, scoring 3.90 in the Q4 Index, to Japón (contemporary Japanese) and Ocean Grill (Mediterranean-Italian, on the oceanfront); Valmont for The Spa at The Setai is a Forbes Four-Star spa for 2026. The hotel holds Forbes Five-Star, Two MICHELIN Keys and AAA Five Diamond.
Travel + Leisure reported in December 2020 that The Weeknd chose The Setai in fall 2020, and that the four-bedroom penthouse on the 40th floor was his suite of choice. The same report called the hotel a favorite of Britney Spears and, reportedly, of Beyoncé and Madonna.
Two Keys are the most useful signal a Miami hotel can carry, and only three carry them.
Five Stars Farther Up Collins Avenue
Two more Forbes Five-Star hotels sit farther up Collins Avenue, in Bal Harbour and Sunny Isles Beach, and neither is on the 2026 MICHELIN Key list.
The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort: Bal Harbour
The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort rises 27 stories on nine acres of oceanfront, with interiors by Yabu Pushelberg. Oceanfront suites come with St. Regis Butler service, and there are two pools: a family Resort Pool and a Tranquility Pool for guests 18 and over. Dining includes BH Prime, a steakhouse, the oceanfront Atlantikós and La Gourmandise, home of the St. Regis Afternoon Tea, with champagne sabrage nightly at 6pm in The St. Regis Bar. The Spa at St. Regis covers 14,000 square feet and is a Forbes Five-Star spa for 2026, and the hotel holds Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star for 2026 without appearing on the 2026 MICHELIN Key or AAA Five Diamond lists.
Acqualina Resort & Residences: Sunny Isles Beach
Acqualina Resort & Residences counts 55 guest rooms and 44 suites, each with a private terrace. Dining runs to Il Mulino New York, Avra Miami and Ke-uH, and the Acqualina Spa spans 20,000 square feet as a Forbes Five-Star spa for 2026. Families are the clearest fit: the complimentary kids club takes its theme from marine biology. The hotel holds Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star for 2026 and AAA Five Diamond, held since 2009, and is not on the 2026 MICHELIN Key list.
Beyond Miami Beach: Brickell, Key Biscayne and Coconut Grove
Three hotels away from Miami Beach: two Forbes Four-Star properties, in Brickell and on Key Biscayne, and a One-Key hotel on the bay in Coconut Grove.
Four Seasons Hotel Miami: Brickell
Four Seasons Hotel Miami opened in October 2003 and holds 221 guest rooms on floors 8 to 29, with 84 residences on floors 40 to 70. The seventh-floor pool deck covers two acres, described by the hotel as the city’s largest rooftop deck. EDGE Brasserie sits on the seventh floor and BAHIA serves a northern Mediterranean menu by the pool. The Wellness & Spa at Equinox covers 50,000 square feet, with ten treatment rooms. The hotel holds a Forbes Four-Star for 2026 and is #6 in the Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards 2026 Miami list, scoring 98.65.
The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, Miami: Key Biscayne
The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, Miami officially reopened on December 8, 2025 after a $100 million transformation, its first comprehensive renewal in nearly 25 years, across seventeen acres of beachfront. Dining includes Luma, with Mediterranean-inspired modern Italian cooking, and Paralía, an Aegean restaurant inspired by Greek and Turkish tavernas and led by executive chef Renato Mekolli. The spa has 16 treatment rooms, and the Cliff Drysdale Tennis Center adds tennis, pickleball and padel courts, alongside a new Ritz Kids Club. The hotel holds a Forbes Four-Star for 2026.
Mr. C Miami Coconut Grove: Coconut Grove
Mr. C Miami Coconut Grove counts 87 guestrooms and 13 suites, many with private terraces. It is a smaller hotel off the beach, from Ignazio and Maggio Cipriani. Bellini serves classic Italian cooking on the rooftop, and the BeAtala Wellness Spa and a rooftop pool reserved for hotel guests complete it. The hotel holds one MICHELIN Key and a Forbes Travel Guide Recommended rating for 2026.
Miami Beach With More Energy
The last two hotels trade hushed formality for a different kind of Miami.
The Miami Beach EDITION: Collins Avenue
The Miami Beach EDITION counts 294 guest rooms and suites, including 28 bungalow rooms and suites with terraces, and a rooftop penthouse. The building was originally built in 1955 by architect Melvin Grossman, and the hotel is by Ian Schrager, per Architectural Digest (2017). Restaurants are by Michelin-starred chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and the entertainment is unusually complete: an intimate bowling alley, an ice skating rink and two outdoor ocean-facing pools. The hotel and its spa each hold a Forbes Four-Star for 2026.
1 Hotel South Beach: South Beach
1 Hotel South Beach holds one MICHELIN Key and a Forbes Travel Guide Recommended rating for 2026. The design position is explicit: the hotel was built with locally sourced and repurposed materials, with water filtration at every faucet and no single-use plastics in rooms. Dining runs from Watr on the Rooftop, a Japanese-inspired room on the 18th floor that scores 4.00 in the Q4 Index, to AVIV and Tala Beach.
Where Celebrities Actually Stay
Reputation in Miami is easy to inflate and hard to verify. The stays listed here come from named publications, each with its date.
| Guest | Hotel | What was reported | Reported by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beyoncé and Jay-Z | Faena Hotel Miami Beach | Stayed in the Faena Penthouse | Forbes Travel Guide (2025) |
| Madonna | Faena Hotel Miami Beach | Stayed on three floors of the hotel | The Globe and Mail (2016) |
| The Weeknd | The Setai Miami Beach | Chose the hotel in fall 2020; the 40th-floor penthouse was his suite of choice | Travel + Leisure (2020) |
| Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor | The Surf Club (now Four Seasons) | Guests of the original club | Four Seasons hotel history |
| Winston Churchill | The Surf Club | Painted a beach scene during a visit | Travel + Leisure (2022) |
Forbes counted Beyoncé and Jay-Z as billionaires, as reported by The Guardian in December 2025, which makes the Faena Penthouse the one documented billionaire stay here. Jeff Bezos, noted by Page Six as an Indian Creek Island buyer, was reported dining at The Surf Club Restaurant in May 2024, not staying. Discretion is the norm, and most stays are never reported.
How to Choose a Luxury Hotel in Miami
If the only criterion is the deepest list of independent awards, book one of the Two-Key trio: Faena for spectacle, The Surf Club for history, The Setai for architecture.
For families, Acqualina Resort & Residences leads, with a complimentary kids club built around marine biology; The Surf Club and The Setai both have family pools.
For business in Brickell, Four Seasons Hotel Miami is the address. For an island address with courts, The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, Miami, holds the Cliff Drysdale Tennis Center.
For a smaller hotel off the beach, Mr. C Miami Coconut Grove. For nightlife and play, The Miami Beach EDITION, with a bowling alley and an ice skating rink. For a sustainability brief, 1 Hotel South Beach.
Restaurant tables at these hotels are scored in the Mandale Miami Luxury Dining Index Q4 2026. For wellness, our Regenerative Miami Spa Edit covers several of these hotel spas, including Faena’s Tierra Santa Healing House and the Acqualina Spa. If you are in town for Art Week, read our Miami Art Week luxury guide. For buyers who would rather own than stay, Four Seasons Hotel Miami has 84 residences above the hotel and The Surf Club has 25 hotel residences; our analysis of branded residences in Miami covers that market. Rates are not quoted here, since they move daily and should be confirmed with the hotel.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do billionaires stay in Miami?
The one documented billionaire stay here is the Faena Penthouse, where Forbes Travel Guide reported Beyoncé and Jay-Z have stayed, and Forbes counts both as billionaires, per The Guardian in December 2025. Page Six reports that Jeff Bezos bought property on Indian Creek Island, and he was reported dining at The Surf Club Restaurant in May 2024, not staying.
Where do celebrities stay in Miami?
The best-documented stays are at Faena and The Setai: Forbes Travel Guide on Beyoncé and Jay-Z in the Faena Penthouse, The Globe and Mail on Madonna at Faena, Travel + Leisure on The Weeknd at The Setai. The original Surf Club, now the Four Seasons in Surfside, hosted Frank Sinatra and Elizabeth Taylor, according to the hotel’s own history.
Where do the Kardashians stay in Miami?
CBS Miami reported in 2012 that, according to the hotel’s marketing director, the family had been living at the Eden Roc in Miami Beach for a few weeks while filming Kourtney and Kim Take Miami. The Eden Roc is not reviewed in this guide, and we found no reputable report placing them at the ten hotels here.
What is the best boutique hotel in Miami Beach?
Among the Two-Key hotels, The Surf Club is the smallest by guest rooms, 77 plus residences in Surfside, against 157 accommodations at The Setai. Both hold Two MICHELIN Keys. Off the beach, Mr. C Miami Coconut Grove has 87 guestrooms and 13 suites and One Key.
What is the most luxurious hotel in Miami?
There is no single answer. Faena is the strongest case: #1 in the Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards 2026 Miami list, a Forbes Five-Star and Two MICHELIN Keys. The Surf Club and The Setai match both ratings and add AAA Five Diamond, which Faena does not hold.
Which Miami hotels have MICHELIN Keys?
Two Keys: Faena Hotel Miami Beach, Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club and The Setai Miami Beach. One Key here: Mr. C Miami Coconut Grove and 1 Hotel South Beach.
What is the best luxury hotel in Brickell?
Four Seasons Hotel Miami: a Forbes Four-Star for 2026, 221 guest rooms, a two-acre seventh-floor pool deck, the Wellness & Spa at Equinox, and #6 in the Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards 2026 Miami list.
Which luxury hotel in Miami is best for families?
Acqualina, with its complimentary marine biology-inspired kids club. The Surf Club and The Setai both have family pools, and The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, Miami, has a new Ritz Kids Club.
Mandale’s Final Verdict
Three hotels carry Two MICHELIN Keys in Miami, each earning it differently: Faena for spectacle, The Surf Club for 77 rooms with real history, The Setai for design and three pools.
The rest are not consolation entries: Four Seasons Hotel Miami in Brickell, The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne on the island, Mr. C off the sand, The Miami Beach EDITION for play, 1 Hotel South Beach for materials. Choose by occasion, then check the rating that fits.
By Lila Tugender, Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Mandale Luxury Magazine.
Ratings are from the Forbes Travel Guide 2026 Star Awards, the MICHELIN Guide’s 2026 US Key selection (announced September 18, 2026), AAA’s Five Diamond Hotels 2026 list and the Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards 2026. Restaurant scores are from the Mandale Miami Luxury Dining Index Q4 2026. Guest reports are attributed to the publication that made them; no stay is reported here without a named source. Room counts, dining and spa details were checked against each hotel’s official site or press materials in October 2026 and may change; confirm with the hotel before booking. No hotel paid for inclusion or placement. Mandale Luxury Magazine and Mandale Luxury Marketing share the same founders.