Faena Hotel Miami Beach
The swankiest hotel on Miami Beach is a must-see for brilliant British artist Damien Hirst’s “Gone But Not Forgotten” sculpture. It’s a massive, ten-foot-tall 24-karat gold sculpture of a wooly mammoth skeleton encased in glass that’s part of Hirst’s Natural History series, and it steals the scene from the seascape it shares. Also over-the-top fabulous is the hotel itself, designed by movie director/producer Baz Luhrmann and his wife, Academy Award-winning production and costume designer Catherine Martin. For those who saw Lurhmann’s Moulin Rouge, you get the idea of Faena: an uber swanky French burlesque haute spot bathed in reds and golds…but with sand.
More than just a hotel, Faena has transformed its mid-beach area into a hyped, hip hub of arts, design and culture called Faena District. It plays host to everything from the Museum of Ice Cream to immersive opera experiences. The sexy, intimate, on-site cabaret-style theater has seen everyone from Billy Joel and Bon Jovi to Duran Duran perform, and the even sexier bars and restaurants on site are inspired places in which to be shaken and stirred.
Red is also the color scape in all rooms and suites, with luxe amenities including king beds, custom wood furnishing, and Carrara marbled bathrooms with huge walk-in-showers and Tierra Santa amenities. Set on 100,000 square feet of beach, the pool and beach area is a pepperminted paradise with red and white umbrellas catered to by butlers who will clean your sunglasses and bring you fruit-infused water.
On the hotel’s third floor is the Tierra Santa Healing House, a magnificent, 22,000-square-foot spa featuring one of the largest hammams on the East Coast as well as shaman-developed body-healing rituals. For kids, there are beach activities, toys and games. Pets are welcome for a $250 nonrefundable deposit and $25 per night fee.
For a less extravagant, less expensive (rates range from $175 to $350), but no less charming stay, Casa Faena, 3500 Collins Ave., is a Spanish-style boutique inn up the block featuring 38 rooms and suites, beach access, library, Mexican restaurant, an access to all Faena, the hotel and district, have to offer.
The swankiest hotel on Miami Beach is a must-see for brilliant British artist Damien Hirst’s “Gone But Not Forgotten” sculpture. It’s a massive, ten-foot-tall 24-karat gold sculpture of a wooly mammoth skeleton encased in glass that’s part of Hirst’s Natural History series, and it steals the scene from the seascape it shares. Also over-the-top fabulous is the hotel itself, designed by movie director/producer Baz Luhrmann and his wife, Academy Award-winning production and costume designer Catherine Martin. For those who saw Lurhmann’s Moulin Rouge, you get the idea of Faena: an uber swanky French burlesque haute spot bathed in reds and golds…but with sand.
More than just a hotel, Faena has transformed its mid-beach area into a hyped, hip hub of arts, design and culture called Faena District. It plays host to everything from the Museum of Ice Cream to immersive opera experiences. The sexy, intimate, on-site cabaret-style theater has seen everyone from Billy Joel and Bon Jovi to Duran Duran perform, and the even sexier bars and restaurants on site are inspired places in which to be shaken and stirred.
Red is also the color scape in all rooms and suites, with luxe amenities including king beds, custom wood furnishing, and Carrara marbled bathrooms with huge walk-in-showers and Tierra Santa amenities. Set on 100,000 square feet of beach, the pool and beach area is a pepperminted paradise with red and white umbrellas catered to by butlers who will clean your sunglasses and bring you fruit-infused water.
On the hotel’s third floor is the Tierra Santa Healing House, a magnificent, 22,000-square-foot spa featuring one of the largest hammams on the East Coast as well as shaman-developed body-healing rituals. For kids, there are beach activities, toys and games. Pets are welcome for a $250 nonrefundable deposit and $25 per night fee.
For a less extravagant, less expensive (rates range from $175 to $350), but no less charming stay, Casa Faena, 3500 Collins Ave., is a Spanish-style boutique inn up the block featuring 38 rooms and suites, beach access, library, Mexican restaurant, an access to all Faena, the hotel and district, have to offer.
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