The 8 Best Miami Beachfront Hotels

Best Overall: Fontainebleau Miami Beach

See Rates on Tripadvisor.com

Why We Chose It

Sprawled across 22 acres with numerous pools, restaurants, and even an on-site nightclub, Fontainebleau Miami Beach appeals to families, couples, and partiers.

For a full-blown resort that’s fit for families, couples, and partiers, there’s no other place like the Fontainebleau Miami Beach. Sprawled across 22 acres, the hotel boasts 11 outdoor pools, including a family-friendly oasis complete with a slide and the Arkadia Day Club that holds boisterous parties with a live DJ on the weekends. You’ll also find one of the city’s best spas here, where the world-class facility offers amenities like a jetted pool, rain room, deluge shower, steam room, and hammam benches. And to keep you satiated, there’s no shortage of options to choose from with 11 on-site food and beverage venues, including big names like Hakkasan, Scarpetta by Scott Conant, and Stripsteak by Michael Mina.

If you’re in Miami to party, the property also happens to be home to LIV, one of the hottest nightclubs in town. Once you’re ready to call it a night, accommodations are bright and airy, and many are outfitted with balconies and have luxurious marble bathrooms.

Notable Amenities

• Award-winning, 40,000-square-foot spa
• Adults-only Arkadia Day Club

Best Budget: Freehand Miami

See Rates on Tripadvisor.com

Why We Chose It

Often dubbed a “luxury hostel,” Freehand Miami provides guests well-appointed dorms and private rooms at affordable rates.

As a hotel-hostel hybrid, Freehand Miami offers both shared dorms and private rooms for their guests. The well-appointed accommodations designed by acclaimed studio Roman and Williams have eccentric mix-and-match furnishings and are fairly spacious given the surprisingly affordable rate. What you’ll undoubtedly love the most though is the lush courtyard, where you’ll find an outdoor pool and the award-winning Broken Shaker bar, which has a party vibe once the sun sets. And don’t sleep on the property’s 27 restaurant, where the globally inspired menu highlights local ingredients.

Notable Amenities

• Outdoor pool
• Bike rentals for guests

Best for Families: Loews Miami Beach Hotel

See Rates on Tripadvisor.com

Why We Chose It

With a kids club, gaming lounge, cooking classes, and a bevy of outdoor activities, Loews Miami Beach Hotel will keep the little ones entertained.

There’s a reason Loews Miami Beach Hotel’s motto is “Welcoming you like family.” The large beachfront property has a number of amenities fit for young ones including a kids' club with daily scheduled activities, a video game and arcade lounge, cooking classes like pizza-making sessions, and a huge pool.

While the young ones are busy, parents can book one of the adults-only cabanas with bottle service or spend some time at the full-service spa with a relaxing treatment. To keep you satiated there are five food and beverage outlets, including Miami Joe Coffee Co. for a quick cup of joe to jumpstart your day and Lure Fishbar for fresh seafood. Rooms here are modern with a neutral color palette and marble bathrooms, but make sure to book one with a balcony and ocean view for the full Miami experience.

Notable Amenities

• On-site spa
• Adults-only cabanas
• Cooking classes
• Video game and arcade lounge for kids

Best for Couples: 1 Hotel South Beach

See Rates on Tripadvisor.com

Why We Chose It

Boasting South Beach’s largest rooftop pool (an adults-only oasis), some of the most spacious accommodations in the area, lush landscaping, and imitable dining options, 1 Hotel South Beach is the perfect getaway for couples.

When you step foot onto the grounds of 1 Hotels South Beach, you’re immediately enveloped in its lush landscaping. From its living green walls to the grotto garden in the lobby, there’s no mistaking that sustainability is a huge component of the brand’s backbone. At this luxurious property, you’ll find South Beach’s largest guestrooms, which average 700 square feet. The well-appointed rooms and suites are largely neutral in color and feature furnishings made from reclaimed or repurposed materials, huge marble bathrooms, and Triple Clear Water filters in all taps.

For your sunny getaway, 600 feet of pristine beach is dotted with chaise lounges and daybeds while there are also four pool options, one of which is a 110-foot-long, adults-only oasis on the property’s rooftop, the largest of its kind in the neighborhood. You’ll also be spoiled with eight dining and beverage options, including a sea-to-table concept at 1 Beach Club and the Japanese and Peruvian–inspired Watr at the Rooftop.

Notable Amenities

• Organic bedding
• Bike rentals
• Complimentary guest transport car service

Best for Luxury: Four Seasons Hotel at the Surf Club, Surfside, Florida

See Rates on Tripadvisor.com

Why We Chose It

Less about the see-and-be-seen vibe of Miami Beach, Four Seasons Hotel at the Surf Club in Surfside has a more relaxed, elegant atmosphere compared to its South Beach counterparts.

From the outside, Four Seasons Hotel at the Surf Club is a story of contrasts. With the addition of sleek glass towers when the luxury brand expanded the property in 2017, the modern buildings only enhance the beauty of the original hacienda-style 1930s clubhouse. Located in Surfside, the resort is not so much about the see-and-be-seen vibe of South Beach, but rather a relaxed atmosphere for visitors in search of an elegant getaway.

Accommodations here are bright and spacious, with floor-to-ceiling windows and white marble bathrooms. In addition to direct beach access, the property has three outdoor pools: one for families, another that’s for adults only, and a third that’s reserved for guests who book one of the air-conditioned cabanas. The resort is also home to an award-winning spa and four food and beverage venues, including a restaurant by world-renowned chef Thomas Keller and a champagne bar that features Miami’s largest selection of bubbly.

Notable Amenities

• Award-winning spa with a hammam, steam rooms, and sauna
• Bike rentals
• Complimentary guest transport car service
• Air-conditioned cabanas
• Kids' club

Best Boutique: The Betsy Hotel

See Rates on Tripadvisor.com

Why We Chose It

With its stately architecture and nightly live jazz music, the Betsy Hotel feels more like a Georgian home than a South Beach property.

A family-owned property on the northern end of Ocean Drive, the Betsy Hotel’s colonial-style facade stands out amongst its Art Deco neighbors. Inside you’ll find well-appointed accommodations with Sferra linens, marble bathrooms, and mini-libraries. If you decide to skip the beach, there are two outdoor pools for lounging, including a rooftop oasis where you can take in 360-degree views of the Atlantic Ocean and Miami skyline. And to keep you satiated, the property offers guests a steak and seafood restaurant; a modern take on a Neapolitan trattoria; and a lobby bar with nightly live jazz entertainment.

Notable Amenities

• Beach service
• In-room spa treatments are available
• Peloton bikes in fitness center
• Malin+Goetz toiletries
• Sferra linens

Best Wellness: Carillon Miami Wellness Resort

See Rates on Tripadvisor.com

Why We Chose It

Focusing both on your physical and mental health, Carillon Miami Wellness Resort goes above and beyond your typical spa.

If you’re in need of restoring your mind and body, look no further than Carillon Miami Wellness Resort. Home to a multi-level, 70,000-square-foot spa, this isn’t just any ordinary spa. Its extensive menu features more than 40 treatments that include massages, body rituals, facials, anti-aging skincare, cryotherapies, and touchless services like red light–therapy pods. The facility also has a hydrotherapy circuit that all hotel guests above 14 years old can access, complete with a Finnish sauna, crystal steam room, herbal laconium, vitality tub, experiential rains, thermal loungers, foot spa, and an igloo.

Consultations with on-site doctors and professionals are also offered, should you want to discuss topics such as nutrition, emotional health, or life strategies. And for the fitness buff, there’s a fully equipped gym in addition to more than 20 daily scheduled fitness classes that range from yoga to TRX.

During your stay, you’ll sleep in the comfort of a one- or two-bedroom suite with floor-to-ceiling windows, a separate living room, fully equipped kitchen, and huge bathrooms with a separate walk-in shower and deep-soaking tub. The property also offers guests three dining outlets and four pools.

Notable Amenities

• Indoor rock climbing wall
• Frette linens
• In-room KitchenAid and Miele appliances

Best Design: Faena Hotel Miami Beach

See Rates on Tripadvisor.com

Why We Chose It

Swathed in red and with an impressive art collection including a gilded woolly mammoth skeleton by Damien Hirst, Faena Hotel Miami Beach has unforgettable design.

When Alan Faena was putting the resort together, he enlisted decorated director-producer Baz Luhrmann and Academy Award-winning costume designer Catherine Martin to bring his vision to life. The result: a theatrical and opulent resort that recalls the glamor of the 1950s. Swathed in red and gold, the Faena Hotel Miami Beach is undoubtedly memorable, especially with its impressive art collection that includes a glass-encased, gilded wooly mammoth skeleton by Damien Hirst. Guests are spoiled in their spacious accommodations, which have goose-down bedding, Carrara marble bathrooms, and furnished balconies in the majority of the rooms.

And while it’s definitely worth leaving the property to explore Miami, there’s plenty to do and eat at the hotel if you choose to stay on site for the entirety of your vacation. For rest and relaxation, there’s 100,000 square feet of pristine white sand beach at your disposal in addition to a cabana-dotted pool, both of which have full service. If you’re looking to be pampered, head to the 22,000-square-foot spa, complete with a hydrotherapy area and one of the largest hammams on the East coast.

Entertainment is a key pillar at the Faena as well, where nightly live music is offered and weekly scheduled shows take place at the grand 150-seat theater. To keep you satiated, there are seven bars and restaurants, including Los Fuegos by Argentine grill master Francis Mallmann and Pao by James Beard Award-winning chef Paul Qui.

Notable Amenities

• On-site theater
• Spa features hydrotherapy area and one of the largest hammams on the East Coast
• Live entertainment