This New Design-Forward Hotel Is Worth the Visit to Miami
Opened just over a year ago and designed by former-fashion-designer-turned-visionary-hotelier Alan Faena, the Faena Miami Beach Hotel has quickly carved out a spot in the overcrowded and glitzy Miami hotel scene — and the design world.
To get things just right at his latest property, Faena collaborated with director/producer Baz Luhrmann (yes, as in Moulin Rouge and Romeo + Juliet Baz Luhrmann) and Oscar-winning costume designer Catherine Martin, who helped to perfect the essence and set the mood of the hotel with Faena. His end result is the thing that hotel design dreams are made of and the only reason you need to make a return trip to MIA — just take a look for yourself.
The showstopping hotel is an art deco paradise with an entrance full of furniture pieces custom made in Portugal and France, gold leaf ceilings and antique furnishings. Guests enter the hotel through the stunning Cathedral, which features murals from Juan Gatti, gold and velvet furniture, gold leaf covered columns and a large custom rug by design shop Studio Job.
In your room or suite, you’ll find custom-designed furniture made in Los Angeles, Portugal and France paired with red leather, velvet and turquoise details — along with a leopard or zebra print chair or couch in many of the rooms. The 8-inch wood plank floors paired with walnut wood finishes immerse you into a space that feels part historic, part contemporary and completely elegant.
Other highlights include Damien Hirst’s gilded gold woolly mammoth — on display just steps from the beach — and the hotel’s Library, with its antique Gio Ponti chandelier, herringbone walnut wood floors from France, and a bathroom covered in silver onyx (!). Of course the pool area that screams Italian riviera is not to be missed, complete with shell reef tiles and soon-to-be-iconic red and white umbrellas and lounge chairs.
While you’re in town…
Just a few blocks up the road, The Confidante Miami Beach is a new design-forward hotel with expertly curated rooms full of mid-century modern furniture and suites with wrap-around terraces that overlook two pools set in a tropical garden vibe.
And just over the bridge in the trendy Design District is OTL, a casual new breakfast and lunch spot worth a visit for its bright and beachy design vibes — and for feasting on an unforgettable Tortilla Española and Avocado Toast.
If you’re in need of a dinner res for your trip and want to spark some minimalist creativity at the same time, KYU is a new and very delicious Asian-inspired grill (If you love fried chicken, you must try their Korean Fried Chicken). With concrete walls accented by rich woods and the cutest succulent terrariums you’ll ever see, the restaurant is smack dab in the middle of the artsy Wynwood district, which has become a popular Miami ‘hood for nightlife and dining.