As someone who has written about hotels for more than a decade now, I stumble when asked what my favourites are.
Forestis in The Dolomites is a singular experience and easily one of the most unforgettable stays in the world. The Baccarat New York is pure indulgence, and its bar has some of the finest cocktails I’ve ever had. It’s impossible not to feel smug when staying at the Mandarin Oriental Lake Como (the food is even better than the views). I think the Fontainebleau represents a profound change for Las Vegas. I’ll never forget the hotel that made me fall in love with hotels: W Bali. And I’ve never felt more connected to New York City than when I stayed at The Plaza.
There’s more. I promise I’m not showboating (kind of a given in this line of work).
The art-obsessed Joule in Dallas has one of my favourite lobby spaces. The Palmer House in Chicago tells its history beautifully. Dubai’s Atlantis the Palm is so excessively luxurious that I constantly felt out place (but loved every minute of it) at its outrageous launch party.
Four Seasons Bangkok is a truly special stay, but nowhere near as memorable as Four Seasons Tented Camp up in Thailand’s Golden Triangle. I’d never say no to staying at New Orleans’ heritage-listed Hotel Monteleone with its fun carousel bar. The InterContinental in Downtown L.A. still has the most comfortable robes I’ve ever worn.
New York’s fresh-faced, standard-raising Warren Street Hotel is a riot of British whimsy. And the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park in London has the perfect sense of place, backed by bucolic views of its eponymous public park.
So I do think it says a lot when I declare that my favourite hotel brand, at least right now, is 1 Hotels.
The two 1 Hotel properties in New York City – 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge and 1 Hotel Central Park – are incredible. There’s one opening up in Melbourne later this year and I’ve read inspired things about the brand’s locations in Hawaii and West Hollywood.
But what’s really sold me on the 1 Hotel brand is its property in Miami. Although it’s a scene-to-be-seen for high-end socialites and attention-operated “influencers,” the eco-conscious luxury hotel is a prime example of the greatest sustainability initiative of them all: education.
People like luxury. Many people in the world aspire to it. And so having a hotel that highlights uncompromising extravagance while still genuinely thinking about sustainability and upcycling is important. I don’t think there’s anything more important in the hotel industry right now.
1 Hotel South Beach is a perfect example of that. The brand’s definitive biophilic design is more subtle in Miami when compared to the leafy concrete-jungle-adjacent scene over of 1 Brooklyn Bridge, but the property works hard to ensure its eco-friendly ethos is largely in-tact. Most importantly, believable.
This hotel is new money. You want old money? Head further up the beach and stay at the equally beloved, celebrity-backed Fontainebleau with its sweet-smelling lobby, old-timey rooms and adult-playground style backyard with multiple misshapen pools, hot tubs, poolside bars and VIP area.
I stayed there for two nights before checking into 1 Hotel South Beach and couldn’t have juxtaposed it better myself. Both hotels are incredible, but the 1’s polish makes it the favourite for a younger crowd. This is one of Miami’s most contemporary hotels, and it’s no shock to find out it has a hard-won Michelin Key.
Location
Formerly the ritzy Gansevoort Hotel, 1 Hotel South Beach sits pretty on an enviable part of Miami’s famously party-minded beach. The reflag was revealed in March 2015, and ever since, this property has become a haven for people with both real and imagined influence.
You’re far enough from the go-hard-or-go-home heart of South Beach to find peace (if that’s what you’re looking for…in Miami) but it’s still an easy walk or drive if you want to get those famous pastel shopfronts that feature on any South Beach postcard.
Like most high-end hotels in South Beach, this is a beachfront property. Stepping onto those hot, hot, hot golden grains of sand is a matter of minutes, and the best route is via a secret garden that serves as the property’s backyard. This leafy maze is a bit tricky to navigate, so pay attention to the signs. I imagine it’d be a perfect place to escape when Miami’s definitive weather isn’t set to scorching.
Design
1 Hotel lives and breathes sustainability. And yes, I realise what an eye-roll of a sentence that could be, if it was applied to just about every other luxury brand. Greenwashing is far too common in the hospitality industry, but the brand’s reputation speaks for itself.
A giant “1” sign greets guest. It’s the first of many examples of ambitious upcycling used to great effect. The sign was built from 7,500 pounds of local Florida coral, much like how the bedheads at the New York properties give new life to nearby deconstructed water towers.
Recycled and reclaimed materials are touched up with elegance. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the light, airy lobby. I walk in to the “Daylife Swimmer,” a large-scale moss mural looking over a narrow hall of driftwood furniture juxtaposed against dolled-up influencer types milling around. It’s a highly sociable scene but the design leans towards South Beach’s more relaxed side.
I pass the farmstand and check in, picking up my small circular room key that’s made of recycled wood.
Rooms
My Ocean View Junior King Suite is incredibly spacious at 650-square-feet. Given the average luxury hotel room in the US sits around 400-square-feet, the sense of space is substantial. The bed is a bastion of cloud-like comfort and invaluable after a long day sweating on South Beach. It sits raised on a wooden platform with smart lighting and well-placed power sockets. The lounge room is distinct and supremely comfortable, its sharp lines following a corner couch that’s almost as comfortable as the bed itself.
The low-slung balcony looks over a drab rooftop that’s been brightened with a mural, so those on the higher floors don’t have to look at a slab of concrete. A beautiful idea. There’s a comfy day bed out here and partial ocean views in the distance. Reading outside while wrapped in Miami’s immaculate summer night weather is blissful beyond words.
Food & Drink
I’m only here for two nights so don’t get a chance to check out Watr, the rooftop poolside restaurant that’s almost always full to the brim with people. At night, it’s one of the liveliest scenes I’ve seen outside of Lower Manhattan on a Saturday night, packed full of life and laughter.
I do, however, manage to fit in breakfast and lunch at PLNTHOUSE, the downstairs restaurant centered around clean eating. Sticking closely to the brand’s ethos, the food is hyperlocal and sustainably focused, offered in a cosy space with its own leafy garden.
Amenities
There are no fewer than four pools across the property. Four. And they are all remarkably different from one another, bested by the rooftop pool with extraordinary views hanging over South Beach. Fringed by rows of Miami’s iconic palms, the picturesque, adult’s-only pool cuts a cinematic shape that’s a dream in the evenings, with the gentle breeze coming in from the beach.
The Center Pool on the main deck is even larger, framed by all types of cabanas and daybeds. It too maximises ocean views, with another, smaller and more intimate pool located just one floor beneath it.
The hotel has direct access to a 600-foot private area South Beach. Surprisingly, there aren’t many hotels in South Beach with their own Beach Club so this is a highly favoured amenity. Several rows of white deck chairs defined the space from the rest of the beach, each shaded by large umbrellas and serviced by a kiosk. The water: divine, especially on a typical Miami day.
Wellness takes a big, obvious focus with The Bamford Wellness Spa. Again, I was only there for two nights so was unable to squeeze in a treatment. You’ll also find a top-shelf fitness program with both a supersized gym and a SoulCycle studio.
The hotel is largely packed by adults, but it’s family friendly as well. There’s even a kids club by the Center Pool that’s adorably named “Seedlings.” I’m told the activities here flow from the brand’s ethos, maintaining active, healthy and mindful care while parents are off tucking into small plates and Champagne by the pool
Service
Service is friendly, fast but spread thin when it comes the pool bars. You’ll feel like a guest no matter where you go, and it is obvious staff are highly trained when it comes in treating their guests as human rather than numbers. But the sheer popularity of 1 Hotel South Beach means you’ll inevitably have a few moments where you’re waiting a bit too long to be tended to. That’s more of a concern for “influencers,” for whom entitlement comes with the territory; it’s of very little issue when you’re in such a relaxing setting.
Verdict & Value
As per Google, you can expect to pay close to AU$1,000 a night for the privilege of staying at 1 Hotel South Beach. When it comes to these types of prices, I usually say that it’s more for people who can afford not to bat an eyelid at those prices. The cashed-up artists, managers, touring bands and general industry-types that regularly read this website should have no qualms about booking in a few nights.
But for those who’d think twice about such a price tag, I’d say that this is still worth saving up for. Staying here is an experience; so much so that you’ll rarely want to leave the property and explore Miami’s vast lifestyle offerings and varied food scene. The hotel is a destination unto itself.
And I guess that’s the biggest downside to 1 Hotel South Beach. It’s just so damn alluring that you forget there’s a big, wide city out there for you to explore.
Tip: If you want more eco-conscious inspiration, head on over to the Pérez Art Museum Miami just off Biscayne Avenue. Sustainability is key here and the art is superb, with the permanent collection boasting big names like Anish Kapoor, Diego Rivera and Damian Ortega.
FIVE STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
1 Hotel South Beach
Address: 2341 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139
Contact: +1 305-604-1000
The author stayed as a guest of 1 Hotel South Beach.
