The Miami Beach Experience
There’s no one Miami Beach experience. You could park yourself on a stretch of sugar-soft white sand, marvel at Art Deco mansions, eat your way through the area’s best beachfront restaurants, shop til you drop on Lincoln Road, or hit the nightclubs on Ocean Drive. In Miami, the hotels aren’t just for tourists; they’re stitched into the fabric of this lively, colorful city, bringing together the best of the destination under one roof.
How Voting Works
Every year for our World’s Best Awards survey, GoTravelDaily asks readers to weigh in on travel experiences around the globe — to share their opinions on the top hotels, resorts, cities, islands, cruise ships, spas, airlines, and more. Nearly 165,000 readers completed the 2023 survey, indicating a significant increase in engagement. Over 685,000 votes were cast across more than 8,500 unique properties.
Hotels were classified as either resort hotels, city hotels, or safari lodges based on their location and amenities, rated on the following criteria:
- Rooms/facilities
- Location
- Service
- Food
- Value
For each characteristic, respondents could choose a rating of excellent, above average, average, below average, or poor. The final scores are averages of these responses.
What Readers Loved
Readers’ favorite hotels in Miami offer world-class services and amenities. Take, for example, Nobu Hotel Miami Beach (No. 4), which features not one but four pools, a private marina, a 22,000-square-foot spa with Natura Bissé treatments, and an exclusive beach area, all complemented by the renowned Japanese restaurant from chef Nobu Matsuhisa and actor Robert De Niro. “This is luxury,” commented one traveler. “The location is great, the rooms have amazing views, and the staff go out of their way to serve you.”
While some travelers prefer the beachside action of properties on Miami Beach like The Setai (No. 3), others favor the calm and more mature atmosphere of Bal Harbour, where two of this year’s winning properties are located: The Ritz-Carlton Bal Harbour (No. 5) and The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort (No. 2). “This is the most elegant hotel in Miami,” asserted one traveler of The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort, a 216-room resort walking distance from the designer shops of Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Gucci.
When this year’s winning property emerged on the scene a few years back, it put another ritzy Miami enclave on the map. Read on to learn more.
The Winner
Four Seasons Hotel at the Surf Club
In the mid-20th century, The Surf Club was Miami’s most exclusive social club, where Hollywood stars mingled with notable figures like Winston Churchill and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Today, the Mediterranean Revival clubhouse is the centerpiece of the Four Seasons Hotel at Surf Club, designed by Parisian interior designer Joseph Dirand, with 77 rooms across a 12-story glass tower and a selection of beachfront suites and cabanas. Guests used words like “immaculate,” “pristine,” and “excellent” to describe the beachfront oasis, which also features a fine-dining establishment from chef Thomas Keller. “This is the best of Miami,” gushed one traveler.
This is the best of Miami.
— Reader Review
The Full List
1. Four Seasons Hotel at the Surf Club: Surfside, Florida
Reader Score: 95.71
2. The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort: Bal Harbour, Florida
Reader Score: 94.82
3. The Setai Miami Beach: Miami Beach, Florida
Reader Score: 94.36
4. Nobu Hotel Miami Beach: Miami Beach, Florida
Reader Score: 92.38
5. The Ritz-Carlton Bal Harbour, Miami: Bal Harbour, Florida
Reader Score: 92.14
6. The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach: Miami Beach, Florida
Reader Score: 90.88
7. Faena Hotel Miami Beach: Miami Beach, Florida
Reader Score: 89.62
8. Hilton Aventura Miami: Aventura, Florida
Reader Score: 89.25
9. The Palms Hotel & Spa: Miami Beach, Florida
Reader Score: 89.18
10. Acqualina Resort & Residences: Sunny Isles Beach, Florida
Reader Score: 89.14
11. W South Beach: Miami Beach, Florida
Reader Score: 88.67
12. The Miami Beach Edition: Miami Beach, Florida
Reader Score: 88.18
13. 1 Hotel South Beach: Miami Beach, Florida
Reader Score: 87.15
14. Eden Roc Miami Beach: Miami Beach, Florida
Reader Score: 86.71
15. JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa: Aventura, Florida
Reader Score: 86.20
