Faena Hotel Miami Beach

Theatrical maximalist luxury on Mid Beach. Damien Hirst sculptures, a red velvet theater, gilded animal heads — and one of the best beachfronts in Miami. Polarizing on purpose.

★★★★★📍 Mid Beach$$$$

Faena is what happens when Argentine hotelier Alan Faena and director Baz Luhrmann (designer Catherine Martin) are turned loose on a beachfront property with an unlimited budget and a mandate to skip subtlety. The result is theatrical maximalism at full volume — Damien Hirst's gilded "Gone But Not Forgotten" woolly mammoth sculpture in the pool courtyard, a working red velvet cabaret theater (the Faena Theater) on the property, gilded golden columns lining the lobby, ornate ceiling murals by Argentine artist Juan Gatti, and a service ethos that takes Argentine hospitality extremely seriously.

Rooms are large (450+ sq ft for entry-level), ocean-facing, with private balconies, marble bathrooms with separate tubs and rain showers, and a level of finish that doesn't exist at most Miami luxury hotels. The beach is one of the best stretches on Miami Beach proper — wide, clean, with attentive cabana service.

The on-property dining is excellent (Los Fuegos by Francis Mallmann, the steak-and-fire restaurant; Pao by Paul Qui; and the Casino, a clubby supper club for late-night). The Tierra Santa Healing House spa is one of the best in Miami.

Rooms start around $900-1200/night in season (December-April), $500-700 in summer. Polarizing as a design choice — the maximalism is not for everyone, and some find it overstated. But Faena is loved by guests who appreciate that someone fully committed to a vision and executed it at the highest level of craft.