This post is all about where to stay in South Beach Miami!
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My husband and I just returned from the most wonderful long weekend in South Beach, Miami feeling fully rejuvenated and totally spoiled. Most of that has to do with where we stayed: W South Beach. If you, too, are looking for a lovely weekend away, maybe it will be a good option for you as well. Here are all the details!
We chose Miami because it was a quick plane ride for us, and we needed to capitalize on the three nights we were able to get away (many thanks to our parents for watching the kids!). While we originally wanted to travel out of the country (initially we were considering: Cartagena, Lisbon, and Mexico City) but given flight times, airport travel times, extra time to get through customs, and the consideration of potential delays, this wasn’t an ideal option. So, insert Miami! You may already know how much my husband loves Miami, so this is how we landed on South Beach — we wanted a tropical, luxurious feel, access to great food, with the opportunity to explore, or simply relax (hard for me!). And, when we were trying to decide where to stay in South Beach Miami, it was a no brainer. When we can swing it, we love to stay at a W Hotel.
Enter W South Beach (full disclosure — I am receiving no compensation — just offering my experience!). I find it so helpful to hear others’ personal experiences about their trips, so I’m hoping this will be equally helpful and informative for you.
In This Post:
Where to Stay in South Beach Miami: W South Beach Features
Waterside Options
Okay, so I’m not a water person, but my husband is. It’s grown on me as an adult, but I would never choose a water destination if I was the only one involved in this decision. I share this because I also want you to know that despite this, I LOVED the pool at the W.
There is the main pool (“Wet”), and there is an adult pool, which is considerably smaller, but a nice option for individuals who want quiet time. While there were families at the W, I never found it cumbersome or an annoyance to be around the children. If you’ve never stayed at the W, it is geared towards adults, though there were definitely options for kids: the main pool (which is pretty shallow — I think it’s only a bit more than 4 ft in the deepest area), a tennis court, a pickleball court, beach access, a small turf area with some games, etc.
You can also enter the beach from the pool area — it’s just a few steps away. You receive two complimentary beach chairs and towels, both at the beach and at the pool. There’s a beautiful pedestrian pathway between the hotel and the beach.
We decided to stick with the pool both days and literally spent hours there. There are wonderful servers who take your order and bring your food right to your lounge chair. It’s such a treat! While I often feel uncomfortable being waited on in this way, I forced myself to soak it up, and just sit still. There is beautiful greenery (palm trees and those other trees that look like baby fiddle leaf fig leaves — can’t remember the name of them), that I really appreciated and enjoyed.
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Tips For The Pool at W South Beach:
- Check in with the pool cabana when you first arrive at the pool. There is great staff who will help you choose your seats, put your towels out for you, and help you move an umbrella for shade if needed. They also need your room # & your last name.
- If you plan to stay at the pool for a while, you can hang onto a menu and peruse the drinks and food options. Both were consistently SO good. Our go-to cocktail was “Summer Baby” (pictured above).
- You can ask for a pitcher of water and you should. Stay hydrated! There is also complimentary sunscreen at the pool cabana if you need it.
- Random, but the bathrooms by the pool were really well kept. You know how pool bathrooms are usually so wet and gross (not the visual we all want right now 🤪) — these were NOT that. I was so impressed.
- Our trip was in mid/late July. During that time of year, the beach loungers were pretty full by 1:30pm/2pm. FYI if you want to plan your day around this.
- You can rent cabanas. They are pretty private, though, in my opinion, didn’t let enough natural light in.
Where to Stay in South Beach Miami: The Hotel Room
Friends, this is one of the South Beach Miami hotels with balcony! My husband was worried that our room wouldn’t have a large enough balcony or a broad enough view of the ocean. When reserving our room, we chose a “guest room with an ocean view, balcony” and it did not disappoint! Even my husband was happy (he was pretty convinced he would be let down).
As you might imagine, at a 5 star hotel, there was a turn down service every evening, which was such a treat.
Amenities in the hotel room:
- Turndown service (complete with a bedside chocolate)
- A shower with four (maybe five? – I can’t remember and meant to take a picture!) shower heads!
- Nespresso machine
- Various lighting modes at the touch of a button (bright, dim, off, etc.)
- Double bathroom sink with the toilet separated by a door
- Spacious room (ours had a couch and two comfortable chairs, as well as two chairs on the balcony)
- Slippers
I’m sure there are other aspects I’m forgetting, or didn’t use.
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Food & Drink Options
There are several dining options at W South Beach. You can eat at The Grove (American cuisine) or Mr. Chow (Asian cuisine). There’s also in-room dining, or by the pool (which we already discussed). We ate at The Grove the night we arrived.
The Living Room is their bar, where you can also order food.
We utilized all these food and drink options (aside from Mr. Chow) and the service was so wonderful at each. The servers were very pleasant and aimed to please, as well as the front desk staff with whom we interacted.
Where to Shop in South Beach Miami: Lincoln Road
And if you’re just here for the Messi / soccer mom content (😂), you know we had to find some soccer goodies to bring back for the kids.
Lincoln Road is an outdoor shopping area in South Beach. We were looking for little gifts to bring home to the kids, so we walked to Lincoln Road, which is about a 20 minute walk. As usual, we went full Inter Miami / Messi / soccer mode and stopped in the Pelé Store, Adidas, Nike, and the PSG store. I did also get to shop at the Anthropologie there.
There was no shortage of soccer goodies! Adidas had some cool Messi displays that my kids would have lovedto see in person, and Pelé had great options, heavy on Inter Miami and Messi given that we were in Miami.
If you are looking for a shopping experience while in South Beach, Miami, Lincoln Road is likely a good fit. They had something for everyone, including a lot of food options.
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While there are several 5 star hotels in Miami South Beach and many hotels on South Beach Miami strip, we repeated to ourselves many times on our morning walks, noting how happy we were with our choice. Staying at W South Beach truly felt like an oasis, with great service, and consistently delicious food and drink. For sure, this is one of the best hotels in South Beach Miami!
Have you stayed in South Beach, Miami? If so, did you have a favorite location? Please share! And, if there’s anything else I can cover about the hotel, please feel free to send a comment.
Thank you for being here!
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This post is all about where to stay in South Beach Miami!
