Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club

A 1930s Beach Club With a Richard Meier Addition

The Surf Club has been a fixture on Collins Avenue since New Year's Eve 1930, when tire magnate Harvey Firestone opened it as a private social club conceived aboard his yacht. Noel Coward, Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor all passed through in its heyday, along with parties that reportedly involved kayaks in the swimming pool and a gala with three hundred tables carved from ice. Four Seasons took over the property in 2017, commissioning Pritzker Prize winner Richard Meier to build three new towers that frame the original 1930s clubhouse rather than replace it. The past is still the point; the hotel just added a five-star operator to look after it.

Why It Works

We picked this one because a history this specific is impossible to recreate, and Four Seasons didn't try to paper over it. Joseph Dirand's interiors thread 1930s references through genuinely modern rooms rather than going full pastiche, and the old ballroom now houses Lido, an Italian-summer restaurant, instead of being converted into a function room. The operator brought in Thomas Keller for his first Florida restaurant, which tells you how seriously Four Seasons is treating the address. Nine acres of landscaped grounds and 900 feet of beach give the property room that most Miami Beach towers simply don't have.

Why This Location

Surfside sits a few minutes north of South Beach's crowds and immediately south of Bal Harbour's shopping, which makes The Surf Club's address a genuine middle point between Miami Beach's nightlife and a quieter, more residential stretch of Collins Avenue. Miami International Airport is about 30 minutes away, manageable for a long weekend. The beach here is calmer and less built-up than South Beach proper, with the club's own 900 feet of sand backed by nine acres of garden rather than a boardwalk. It reads as a resort that happens to be inside Miami, not a city hotel with a beach attached.

Fast Facts

• Prix: €€€€

• Vibe: 1930s private beach club reopened as a Four Seasons, Richard Meier architecture

• Chambres: 77, plus hotel residences, bungalows and a beach villa

• Best For: Travelers who want five-star service with genuine Miami Beach history

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: The original 1930s ballroom, now Lido restaurant

• Dining: Lido (Italian), The Surf Club Restaurant (Thomas Keller), Champagne Bar, Winston's On The Beach

• Amenities: Three pools, spa with hammam and sauna, 900 ft of beach, Cabana Row

• Attractions: Bal Harbour Shops, South Beach, nine acres of landscaped gardens

Rooms, Residences, and a Row of Private Cabanas

The 77 guest rooms sit alongside 25 hotel residences, four bungalows, and a single beach villa, which gives the property a range from a standard room to something closer to a private house. Interiors by Joseph Dirand keep a restrained, almost nautical palette, light wood and linen rather than the gilt that Miami Beach hotels sometimes default to. Forty day cabanas line Cabana Row, each air-conditioned with its own bathroom, effectively a second tier of accommodation for guests who want a private base by the pool without booking a residence. It's a room list built for repeat stays and long weekends rather than a single overnight.

Thomas Keller's First Florida Restaurant

The Surf Club Restaurant marks chef Thomas Keller's first venture in Florida, serving a continental menu in a dining room that looks out toward the ocean. It sits alongside Lido, chef Marco Calenzo's Italian-summer restaurant inside the restored 1930s ballroom, and the Champagne Bar, which pairs craft cocktails with a serious by-the-glass list. Winston's On The Beach covers the casual end, poolside Florida and Latin American plates for anyone who'd rather not change out of a swimsuit for lunch. Four distinct dining rooms under one roof is unusual even by Four Seasons standards.

Before You Book

This is a fit for travelers who want a resort-scale Four Seasons without leaving Miami, and for anyone who'd rather stay somewhere with an actual past than a hotel built last year. It's less of a fit for a short city break focused on South Beach's clubs, since Surfside runs quieter and the walk south takes some time. Book a beach-view room in the Meier towers for the view, or a bungalow if traveling as a group that wants its own door. Reserve The Surf Club Restaurant well ahead; a Thomas Keller dining room in Miami books out faster than the room itself.