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Best Luxury Hotels in Miami: 10 Picks Ranked by Forbes Stars and MICHELIN Keys

The best luxury hotels in Miami and Miami Beach, from Forbes Five-Star to MICHELIN Keys, with room counts, areas and how to arrive by private jet.

By Wijet Editors

best luxury hotels in Miami: an oceanfront Miami Beach hotel pool and Art Deco skyline at golden hour

At a glance

Miami luxury hotels: the recognition on record

Forbes Five-Star
5 hotels
Acqualina, Faena, Four Seasons at The Surf Club, The Setai and The St. Regis Bal Harbour, per Forbes Travel Guide's Miami page, 2026
MICHELIN Two Keys
3 hotels, plus Mayfair House
The Setai, Faena and Four Seasons at The Surf Club, per the MICHELIN Guide, April 2025, which lists Mayfair House under both Two and One Key
Faena Hotel Miami Beach
179 rooms
Opened December 2015 on the former Saxony Hotel site, per Forbes Travel Guide, 2026
Opa-locka FBOs
3 FBOs
Fontainebleau Aviation, Jet Aviation and Signature Flight Support, per Ace Jet, 2026

The best luxury hotels in Miami by outside recognition are The Setai, Faena Hotel Miami Beach and Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club. Each holds Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star status for 2026 and Two MICHELIN Keys, per Forbes and the MICHELIN Guide’s April 2025 Miami list. Acqualina and The St. Regis Bal Harbour complete the Five-Star group.

The Four Seasons Hotel Miami in Brickell, the EDITION and the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne are Forbes Four-Star. None of these hotels publishes a nightly rate on its Forbes page, so this guide prints no undated figures.

How We Picked

We combined two outside lists and a spread of areas. The first is the Forbes Travel Guide Miami destination page for 2026, which sorts hotels into Five-Star and Four-Star. The second is the MICHELIN Guide’s “The Best Hotels in Miami: All the MICHELIN Keys,” dated April 15, 2025. Room counts and addresses come from each hotel’s Forbes page.

The MICHELIN article is a year and a half old, so treat its Key tiers as the last published, not a live ranking. It also lists Mayfair House Hotel & Garden in both its Two Key and One Key groups, which we flag below. We take no paid placement.

Keys vs Stars: Two Different Judges

Forbes Travel Guide’s Stars grade service and facilities through anonymous inspections. MICHELIN’s Keys, by its own description, reward design and personality as much as polish. In Miami the two lists overlap at the top: The Setai, Faena and The Surf Club are on both. They diverge elsewhere. Acqualina and The St. Regis Bal Harbour are Five-Star but are not among the four Two-Key hotels in MICHELIN’s April 2025 article, and Mayfair House is a Key hotel that Forbes does not list on its Miami page.

The Best Luxury Hotels in Miami

The Setai, Miami Beach

Forbes Five-Star for 2026 and Two Keys. It sits at 2001 Collins Avenue in South Beach, per Forbes. The hotel has three Art Deco pools kept at different temperatures, separated by hedges, and the spa has four private suites, each with its own steam shower (Forbes Travel Guide, 2026). MICHELIN describes “a classically zen, Asian feel.” Forbes says the hotel “consistently has the highest room rates on the beach” but prints no figure.

Faena Hotel Miami Beach

Forbes Five-Star for 2026 and Two Keys. It has 179 guest rooms in 21 categories at 3201 Collins Avenue, per Forbes. It opened in December 2015 on the site of the 1947 Saxony Hotel, with Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin as creative consultants. The lobby holds a Damien Hirst woolly mammoth skeleton covered in 24-karat gold (Forbes, 2026). MICHELIN notes two restaurants in its guide on the property, Pao by Paul Qui and Los Fuegos by Francis Mallmann.

Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club

Forbes Five-Star for 2026 and Two Keys, in Surfside at 9101 Collins Avenue. It has 77 keys: 72 guest rooms and five overnight Ocean Bungalows, according to Forbes. The three towers were designed by Richard Meier around the original 1930 club, and the Four Seasons opened in early 2017. There are about 900 feet of beach and three pools (Forbes, 2026). MICHELIN adds that The Surf Club Restaurant, by Thomas Keller, holds One MICHELIN Star, and puts the hotel about a 20-minute drive from downtown.

Acqualina Resort and Residences on the Beach

Forbes Five-Star for 2026, at 17875 Collins Avenue in Sunny Isles Beach. The 32nd-floor Grand Deluxe Three-Bedroom Oceanfront Suite measures 2,031 sq ft, per Forbes. Il Mulino New York, on the property, is a Forbes Four-Star restaurant. Forbes puts the hotel about 20 minutes from South Beach nightlife, and notes a marine-biology-based kids’ program called AcquaMarine.

The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort

Forbes Five-Star for 2026, at 9703 Collins Avenue. The 24-story building has a zigzag layout so that rooms face the ocean, and it sits across the street from Bal Harbour Shops, per Forbes. The bar holds a champagne-sabering ceremony at 6 p.m. each night. Forbes does not publish a room count.

Four Seasons Hotel Miami

Forbes Four-Star for 2026, at 1435 Brickell Avenue. It has 221 rooms and suites in a 70-story, 789-foot tower that opened in 2003, which Forbes calls Florida’s tallest building. It has two pools, including the Palm Grove pool, and a 50,000 sq ft Equinox fitness and spa floor (Forbes, 2026). Miami International is 16 to 24 minutes away, per Forbes.

The Miami Beach EDITION

Forbes Four-Star for 2026, at 2901 Collins Avenue. It has 294 rooms and suites, 28 private bungalows and a rooftop penthouse, within the preserved shell of the 1955 Seville hotel (Forbes, 2026). The Basement entertainment hub has a four-lane bowling alley and a 1,785 sq ft ice-skating rink. The Matador Room is by Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, Miami

Forbes Four-Star for 2026, at 455 Grand Bay Drive. It stands on 12 oceanfront acres with a 20,000 sq ft spa and a tennis center of 11 courts: 10 soft clay and one hard (Forbes, 2026). Forbes puts the drive from Miami International at 26 to 35 minutes. Forbes does not publish a room count.

Mayfair House Hotel & Garden

Two Keys in the text of MICHELIN’s April 2025 article, which also lists it among its six One Key hotels, so its tier is unclear. It is in Coconut Grove. MICHELIN calls it “surprisingly affordable” and says its lobby is built around a large indoor garden. It does not appear on Forbes Travel Guide’s Miami page.

Mr. C Miami Coconut Grove

One Key, per MICHELIN’s April 2025 article, in Coconut Grove. The article says stepping inside gives “the welcome feel of boarding a luxurious ocean liner.”

HotelAreaMICHELIN KeysForbes 2026RoomsSource
The SetaiSouth Beach2Five-StarNot publishedMICHELIN; Forbes
Faena Hotel Miami BeachMid-Beach2Five-Star179MICHELIN; Forbes
Four Seasons at The Surf ClubSurfside2Five-Star77MICHELIN; Forbes
AcqualinaSunny Isles BeachNot listedFive-StarNot publishedForbes
The St. Regis Bal HarbourBal HarbourNot listedFive-StarNot publishedForbes
Four Seasons Hotel MiamiBrickellNot listedFour-Star221Forbes
The Miami Beach EDITIONMid-BeachNot listedFour-Star294 plus 28 bungalowsForbes
The Ritz-Carlton Key BiscayneKey BiscayneNot listedFour-StarNot publishedForbes
Mayfair HouseCoconut Grove2 or 1 (listed in both)Not listedNot publishedMICHELIN
Mr. C Miami Coconut GroveCoconut Grove1Not listedNot publishedMICHELIN

Verdict: for the strongest case on both lists, pick The Setai, Faena or The Surf Club. For Five-Star service alone, add Acqualina or The St. Regis Bal Harbour.

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What a Night Costs

None of these hotels publishes a fixed nightly rate. Each Forbes page carries a “We Paid” field with no figure, and notes that rates vary by room type and season. The only comparison Forbes offers is qualitative: The Setai “consistently has the highest room rates on the beach.”

Rates swing with season and events, so price your own dates on the hotel’s own site. For suite pricing at the very top of the market, see our guide to the most expensive hotels in the world.

Where to Stay: Miami Areas

  • South Beach: The Setai (2001 Collins Avenue) is the Five-Star pick. MICHELIN also lists The Betsy and 1 Hotel South Beach at One Key, and Esmé Miami Beach, which it calls among the most affordable Key hotels.
  • Mid-Beach: Faena (3201 Collins Avenue) and the EDITION (2901 Collins Avenue) are close neighbors, per Forbes addresses.
  • North of Mid-Beach: Surfside, Bal Harbour and Sunny Isles Beach hold The Surf Club, The St. Regis Bal Harbour and Acqualina, all on Collins Avenue. Acqualina is roughly 20 minutes from South Beach nightlife, per Forbes.
  • Brickell: Four Seasons Hotel Miami, 16 to 24 minutes from Miami International and a city base rather than a beach stay.
  • Coconut Grove: Mayfair House and Mr. C, both Key hotels, per MICHELIN.
  • Key Biscayne: The Ritz-Carlton, about 20 minutes from downtown Miami, per Forbes.

Best for a Beach Stay

The Surf Club has about 900 feet of beach and three pools, and the St. Regis Bal Harbour gives guests a private beach area with chairs and umbrellas (Forbes, 2026). The EDITION has 70,000 sq ft of semi-private beachfront across 3.5 acres.

Best for Families

Forbes notes a children’s program at several of these: AcquaMarine at Acqualina, Family Traditions at The St. Regis Bal Harbour, a children’s studio at The Surf Club, and a program for ages 12 and under at the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne. The Ritz-Carlton also has a family pool with an ice cream shop and an adults-only pool across the lawn. For more options beyond Florida, see our luxury hotels in the Caribbean guide.

Best for Food

Faena holds two restaurants in the MICHELIN Guide, and The Surf Club Restaurant holds One MICHELIN Star (MICHELIN, April 2025). The EDITION’s Matador Room is by Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and Il Mulino New York at Acqualina is a Forbes Four-Star restaurant.

Arriving by Private Jet: Opa-locka and Beyond

Opa-locka Executive (OPF) is the classic private-jet field for Miami. Ace Jet lists three FBOs there: Fontainebleau Aviation, Jet Aviation and Signature Flight Support, all 24 hours, with customs on site for international arrivals. It puts downtown Miami about 14 miles away, typically 25 to 40 minutes by car, and Miami Beach 30 to 50 minutes. The page quotes both 14 and 18 miles for the beach, so confirm with your FBO. Our Opa-locka airport guide has the detail.

Fort Lauderdale Executive (FXE) is the alternative to the north, and Ace Jet lists two FBOs there, Atlantic Aviation and W Aviation, both with customs on site. It suits Sunny Isles, Bal Harbour and Surfside; ask your FBO for the drive time on your arrival day. Miami Executive (TMB) is a third option in the southwest, so confirm handling there directly.

For booking and costs, see our private jet charter guide.

See the luxury hotels hub, the global best hotels in the world ranking, the Forbes Five-Star hotels page, and our best luxury hotels in New York guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best luxury hotels in Miami Beach?
The Setai, Faena Hotel Miami Beach and Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club hold both Forbes Five-Star for 2026 and Two MICHELIN Keys (MICHELIN, April 2025). The St. Regis Bal Harbour and Acqualina are also Five-Star but not on MICHELIN's Two Key list.
Which Miami hotels are 5 star?
Forbes Travel Guide's Miami page for 2026 lists five Five-Star hotels: Acqualina, Faena, Four Seasons at The Surf Club, The Setai and The St. Regis Bal Harbour. Four-Star includes Four Seasons Miami, the EDITION and the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne.
Which Miami hotels have MICHELIN Keys?
MICHELIN's April 2025 Miami list names The Setai, Faena, Four Seasons at The Surf Club and Mayfair House at Two Keys, and One Key hotels including Mr. C Coconut Grove, The Moore, Hotel Greystone, The Betsy and 1 Hotel South Beach. No Miami hotel held Three Keys.
Which Miami hotel has the most rooms among the top picks?
The Miami Beach EDITION, with 294 rooms and suites plus 28 bungalows and a rooftop penthouse (Forbes Travel Guide, 2026). The Surf Club is the smallest at 77 keys.
Where do private jets land for Miami hotels?
Opa-locka Executive (OPF) has three FBOs and is 25 to 40 minutes by car from downtown Miami, per Ace Jet. Fort Lauderdale Executive (FXE) has two FBOs and suits hotels north of Miami Beach.

Sources

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