Which is the best hotel on Miami Beach? Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club, Surfside, Florida Vs. The Miami Beach EDITION Vs. SLS South Beach.
1. Best Location: Four Seasons Surf Club Vs. The Miami Beach EDITION Vs. SLS South Beach
These three hotels are in quite different locations. Four Seasons Surf Club is located on the Northern end of Miami Beach, facing the Atlantic and in a calmer, more serene patch of this beach. You will need to take a taxi to get to South Beach from the Four Seasons.
SLS South Beach is the closest to the South Beach center and is walkable. The Miami Beach EDITION is a 20-minute walk North of SLS, so it is not easily walkable to the nightlife.
If you prefer to spend your evenings in the secluded exclusivity of your resort, stay at Four Seasons Surf Club or The Miami Beach EDITION. If you’re looking for nightlife and lively restaurants and bars, SLS South Beach is the best choice.
2. Best Beach
As I outlined above, Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club, Surfside, probably has the best location for a beach as it is nestled on a prime spot of quiet beach and looks out over the Atlantic ocean. The Surf Club boasts 965 feet (300 meters) of Atlantic oceanfront on a 9-acre (3.6 hectares) with more than 40 beach cabanas. The beach is spectacular, with crystal clear waters.
The Miami Beach EDITION is right on the beach, too, with a 3.5-acre private enclave. SLS South Beach is also directly on the beach with nice red loungers and cabanas placed to enjoy the waves.
All three hotels have brilliant beachfront positions.
3. Best Pool
The Four Seasons’ four swimming pools are excellent, stylish, and relaxing and are just a couple of humps of sand away from the beach.
SLS South Beach has a traditional rectangular pool surrounded by palms and greenery and a playful rubber duck sculpture. The Miami Beach EDITION has a nice but unexciting pool area with two large pools. We think the Four Seasons offers the best pool of these three hotels.
4. Best For Kids
Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club is fabulous for children offering a Kids For All Seasons activity program. If money is not a barrier to booking here, then Four Seasons is the best hotel for children.
5. Best Style
Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club has approximately 80 rooms and incorporates a historic Russell Pancoast-designed building. The legendary Surf Club was founded in 1930 by Harvey Firestone as a private membership club. Now a Four Seasons Hotel, it has been lavishly restored and, in my opinion, is the most stylish hotel in Miami. This hotel also feels boutique because of its size.
I love the grounds and communal areas at The Miami Beach EDITION. This modern resort is packed with greenery and palms and at night, they light the place with hundreds of tiny flickering tea lights. So romantic!
SLS South Beach is designed by creative icon Philippe Starck and imparts a “dream world” theme, blending Latin, Asian, contemporary, and art deco influences with captivating precision. This hotel is stylish but it is a bit of a Marmite style which you either love or hate.
6. Best Restaurant
A brilliant restaurant is Lido Restaurant at Four Seasons. Once the name of The Surf Club’s restaurant prior to its reimagination, chosen for evoking the leisurely lifestyle of an Italian summer, Lido Restaurant at The Surf Club celebrates its place as the best oceanfront dining experience in the Miami Beaches. Here, Michael White, the chef behind Michelin-starred spots in New York City, brings his stylized and sophisticated coastal Italian cuisine to a Miami icon.
SLS South Beach offers dining at the extraordinary Bazaar restaurant, with James Beard Award-winning chef José Andrés at the helm, or at Katsuya, where traditional Japanese cuisine is infused with a provocative twist.
The Miami Beach EDITION has signature restaurants by Michelin-starred chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten so it is, again, a good choice.
All three hotels offer brilliant restaurants, and no one hotel wins in this category.
7. Best Rooms
Four Seasons rooms are stylish and immaculate and the best of these three hotels. With either privileged views of the Atlantic Ocean or city, Guest Rooms are bathed in natural light by floor-to-ceiling windows and feature a refreshing color palette that echoes the classic Surfside combination of sand, sea, and sun.
I love the rooms at The Miami Beach EDITION. This modern resort offers 294 spacious and sophisticated accommodations, including bi-level suites with a private plunge pool or a sauna. They have a modern white and brown driftwood finish, and some have large decked balconies.
At SLS South Beach, the rooms are playfully designed, but I prefer the rooms at The Miami Beach EDITION and Four Seasons.
Four Seasons and The Miami Beach EDITION are best for rooms, in my opinion.
8. Club Lounge
None of these three hotels offers a club lounge. In fact, the only hotel on South Beach with a club lounge is the Ritz-Carlton.
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