The Setai Miami Beach

An all-suite, 5-star beach hotel in South Beach, in 2 buildings: a landmark Art Deco block by Henry Hohauser, opened in 1937 as the Dempsey-Vanderbilt, and a 40-storey tower on the ocean side, as the official site and the MICHELIN Guide describe it. The hotel’s FAQ counts 157 accommodations.

It belongs to the Setai Hotel Group and to The Leading Hotels of the World; the MICHELIN Guide awards it 2 Keys and Forbes Travel Guide 5 stars. Room counts vary by source: 155 suites in the hotel’s own events brochure, 142 on Expedia, 90 Art Deco rooms, 50 Ocean Suites and 1 Penthouse on Booking.com. Booking.com dates the building to 1936 and the Independent to 1938; Chase Travel calls the hotel a South Beach fixture since 2004.

10 types, all suites. On the Art Deco Suites page: Studio Suites of 54 to 57 m², with an ocean, courtyard or city view; Junior Suites of 64 m², facing the city; One Bedroom Suites of 73 m²; Pool Villas of 50 m², above the spa and facing the pools; and accessible Studio Suites.

On the Ocean Suites page, in the tower: one bedroom at 79 to 84 m², 2 to 4 bedrooms at 122 to 261 m², the 162 m² Entertainment Suite, the 330 m² Grand Suite with 4 bedrooms and a cedar sauna, and the 930 m² Penthouse. Every suite has a Duxiana king bed, Frette linen and a soaking or Jacuzzi bath; the Ocean Suites add a balcony and a full kitchen. The Pool Villa measures 500 sq ft, about 46 m², which the suites page, read on 15 October 2026, rounds to 50 m².

At 2001 Collins Avenue, on the corner of 20th Street, where touristy South Beach blurs into Mid-Beach, as the Independent puts it. The beach is behind the hotel and the Bass museum 4 minutes away on foot; Ocean Drive’s Art Deco strip is a 26-minute walk to the south.

Inside, the hotel is calm by day, with 2 exceptions. Each evening the courtyard holds dinner with a DJ and performers until 11pm. And through 2026 guests report building work on the neighbouring plots, audible from the pools; one in August barely noticed it.

Calculated on OpenStreetMap’s streets on 8 October 2026, from the door on Collins Avenue: 4 minutes and 326 metres to The Bass, 10 minutes and 732 metres to the east end of Lincoln Road at Washington Avenue, 11 minutes to the Convention Center, 12 to the New World Center and 26 minutes, 1,926 metres, to the Art Deco Welcome Center at 1001 Ocean Drive.

The hotel’s own list of things to do gives 3 minutes to the Bass and 11 to the New World Center, and sets Ocean Drive 2 miles and a 13-minute drive away; by our measure its Art Deco centre is 1.9 km on foot. Google’s listing says half a mile to Lincoln Road Mall and 3 blocks to the Convention Center.

By car. Miami International is 30 minutes and 24 km away without traffic, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood 40 minutes and 43 km, calculated on OpenStreetMap’s roads on 8 October 2026; a second router gives 27 and 32 minutes. The Independent reckons on 20 to 30 minutes by taxi from Miami’s airport.

Guests in the Ocean Suites have round-trip transfers to either airport, or to the cruise ports, included in the rate, according to the official page; a guest in September 2026 describes being met at the kerb at Miami International by the hotel’s car. PortMiami’s Cruise Terminal D is 18 minutes away.

Valet parking only, at a charge: $60 overnight with in-and-out privileges, according to the hotel’s FAQ. Restaurant and event guests pay $30 for up to 4 hours, other visitors $40. The hotel has 2 universal chargers and 2 Tesla chargers for electric cars.

Valet for one car is part of the Ocean Suites’ rate. The MICHELIN Guide’s listing mentions self-service parking, which the hotel’s pages do not offer.

Yes. The sand is directly behind the hotel, past the pools and Ocean Grill and across the Beachwalk, the public path along the dunes. The FAQ promises private beach access with full service, chairs, umbrellas and food and drink menus, and states that the hotel has no resort fee.

The Independent’s reviewer notes 2 of Miami Beach’s painted lifeguard huts as the backdrop.

There are 3, outdoors, set end to end from east to west so that they catch sunrise and sunset, according to the official page: a lap pool, a centre pool for lounging and a family pool, with hedges and palms between them.

Google’s listing adds an adults-only pool and a hot tub. The official pages name neither: all 3 pools are open to every hotel guest, and the only hot tub in the sources is on the Penthouse’s private terrace, in Chase Travel’s account. The Independent warns that the pool deck can feel crowded.

Each is held at its own temperature all year: 75°F (24°C) in the lap pool, 85°F (29°C) in the centre pool and 90°F (32°C) in the family pool, says the FAQ. The official pages give no opening hours for the pools; the spa’s wellness area is open from 8am to 7pm and the gym at all hours.

In 3 restaurants. Jaya, South Asian, with a tandoor, wok dishes and Peking duck: breakfast 7am to 11am, lunch Monday to Friday noon to 3pm, dinner 6pm to 11pm. Japón, contemporary Japanese, dinner only, 6pm to 11pm. Ocean Grill, Mediterranean and Italian by the beach: lunch 11am to 5pm, dinner 6pm to 11pm. Jo’s Bar opens at 11am and closes at midnight, 1am on Fridays and Saturdays.

On Jaya’s dinner menu the thali and the half Peking duck are $48 each and pad Thai $32; at Ocean Grill a whole branzino is $46 and a Margherita $21; cocktails at Jo’s Bar start at $22. The weekend Caviar & Champagne brunch, 11.15am to 3pm, is $110 an adult and $75 a child of 5 to 12, before tax and service, with a 2-hour limit. All 3 restaurants ask for casual elegant dress: no sportswear, flip-flops or beachwear. In-suite dining runs round the clock.

Only with some rates. The Ocean Suites include the daily Setai Grand Breakfast, at Jaya or in the suite, and so does the autumn package on the offers page. For everyone else the buffet costs $44 an adult and $22 a child on Jaya’s breakfast menu, read on 8 October 2026; Expedia lists $57 a person.

The buffet is served from 7am to 11am: an omelette station, smoked salmon, pastries, fried rice and noodles, fruit and prosecco, with eggs, pancakes and avocado toast to order from the menu. The official pages offer no half-board or full-board plan.

Valmont for The Spa at The Setai has 7 treatment rooms with views of the ocean and the city, 5 of them couples’ suites, and works only with the Swiss brand’s products, according to the spa page. The men’s and women’s locker rooms have private showers, dry saunas, steam showers and a hydrotherapy cold plunge.

The gym, recently renovated, has Peloton bikes, Technogym machines, a Pilates reformer, Finnish saunas and a cold plunge of its own. The site does not publish the spa’s floor area. The spa has 7 treatment rooms with ocean and city views, 5 of them couples’ suites, according to its official page, read on 15 October 2026; Forbes Travel Guide adds that it has no relaxation lounge.

Hotel guests use the gym, the locker rooms with their saunas and cold plunge, the pools and the weekend beach yoga without paying extra. Treatments are charged, with a 20% service charge on top.

No official page sells a day pass. The FAQ opens the pools to hotel guests, and the spa page offers beach yoga free to Setai guests and residents; treatments are booked online or by telephone on the treatments page, which states no residents-only rule. Children under 16 are not admitted to the spa or the gym.

The wellness area opens from 8am to 7pm and treatments run from 10am to 7pm; the gym never closes, according to the treatments page. Beach yoga is at 8.30am on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays: guests sign up with the spa and meet there for a towel and water.

Treatments need a reservation. The spa asks guests to arrive 30 minutes early and charges the full price for an appointment cancelled or moved less than 24 hours ahead.

On the spa menu read on 8 October 2026: a Balinese massage at $245 for 60 minutes and $325 for 90; deep tissue, hot stone and Abhyanga at $280 and $360; Thai massage at $280 and $375. Valmont facials cost $350 for 60 minutes and $470 for 90, a customised facial $295.

The 90-minute Majestic Facial, exclusive to the hotel, is $895. Manicures are $75 and pedicures $95; private yoga or meditation costs $130 an hour and personal training $100. Every spa service carries the 20% service charge.

Children are welcome, and the family pool is the warmest of the 3, at 90°F. Expedia lists free cots, babysitting at a charge and up to 2 children of 12 or under staying free in existing beds; rollaway beds are not available. Brunch has a child’s price for ages 5 to 12, and the breakfast buffet is half price for children.

There is no kids’ club. The Independent found no facilities for children and Forbes Travel Guide few activities designed for them; the spa and gym take guests from 16. For space, the Ocean Suites have kitchens and 2 to 4 bedrooms.

Yes: dogs weighing up to 20 lb, about 9 kg, are welcome, and service animals are accepted on request, says the hotel’s FAQ. On the fee the sources split. Expedia says pets stay free and get food and water bowls, and the Independent says there is no charge, with toys and treats provided; Booking.com and the MICHELIN Guide say charges may apply.

Besides the pools, the beach, the spa and the restaurants: a 24-hour gym, 4 boutiques in the Setai Gallery Shops selling eyewear, Italian tailoring, swimwear and watches, a fleet of Setai bicycles, a Les Clefs d’Or concierge team and free Wi-Fi, according to the official pages.

For meetings, Jaya’s private dining room measures 485 sq ft, about 45 m², and seats 20 around a boardroom table, with a built-in projection screen. Google’s listing adds watercraft rental and water skiing, which the hotel’s pages do not mention.

2 for stays, on the offers page read on 8 October 2026. With «Stay Longer», book 3 consecutive nights and the fourth is free, until 24 November. «Fall for The Setai» adds 2 seasonal cocktails, the Setai Grand Breakfast each day and check-out at 2pm.

Until 31 October the 3 restaurants serve Miami Spice menus: 3 courses for $40 at lunch and $50 at dinner. The page prints no prices or booking conditions for the stay offers.

Yes. The events page offers ceremonies on the hotel’s beach, with an arch, flowers and centrepieces, followed by a cocktail reception or seated dinner at Ocean Grill or Jaya, a cake from the hotel’s pastry team and tailored packages on request.

The largest space is the courtyard: 250 seated or 500 standing on the venues page. Ocean Grill’s main deck takes 120 seated and the Penthouse 50 indoors. The hotel’s events brochure prices shared menus at $125, $185 and $285 a person and gives no hire fees. A second official table lists smaller numbers: 300 standing in the courtyard and 70 for dinner at Ocean Grill.

On 8 October 2026 the hotel had not yet published a programme for 31 December 2026. What the brunch page does list is a holiday brunch on New Year’s Day, 1 January 2027, from $135 a person and $75 for children of 5 to 12, before tax and service, as on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

Dinner in the courtyard is a show on any night of the year, from 6pm to 11pm. On Google Hotels the nights from 25 December to 2 January showed no price on 8 October.

No: the official pages offer none. The nearest course is the public Miami Beach Golf Club, 18 holes and par 72, opened in 1923, which the hotel’s list of things to do puts 14 minutes away on foot and 4 by car.

All year. The official pages announce no seasonal closure, and on Google Hotels, read on 8 October 2026, 79 of the 115 nights from 9 October 2026 to 31 January 2027 had a price. The others, 1 to 5 December and 25 December to 2 January among them, showed none, and the listing does not say why.

Expedia’s listing notes work on the hotel’s exterior from 7 to 23 October 2026, with the end date subject to change. The hotel’s pages say nothing about the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from 1 June to 30 November according to the National Hurricane Center; Chase Travel describes summer as steamy, with afternoon thunderstorms and fewer crowds, and autumn to spring as high season.

Google Hotels, read on 8 October 2026, 2 adults, one night, before taxes and fees: $902 on 9 October 2026, $595 on 14 October, 6 days after the reading, $1,637 on Saturday 17 October, $772 on 3 November, $1,899 on Saturday 14 November, $2,880 on Saturday 12 December, $1,956 on 24 December and $1,069 on 12 January 2027.

The calendar shows each night’s lowest rate from any seller, without naming the suite. On 9 October that came from an online agency; the hotel’s own site asked $1,080, the figure Expedia attached to a Studio Suite with a city view. Art Basel Miami Beach runs from 4 to 6 December 2026, and for the nights of 1 to 5 December the calendar showed no price at all.

On 8 October 2026 Google showed 4.5/5 from 1,920 ratings, 83% of them 5 stars; Tripadvisor 4.7/5 from 2,696, with location and cleanliness at 4.8, rooms at 4.6 and value at 4.2; Booking.com 8.8/10 and Expedia 9.4/10 from 867.

Guests keep coming back to staff who use their names, the pools, the beach service and the beds. The reviews of 2026 also return to the building sites next door, audible from the pools, to rooms showing their age and, from those who come only for dinner or brunch, to a brusque welcome at the valet and at the restaurants’ door; valet parking at $60 a night and, outside the Ocean Suites, breakfast come on top of the rate.

There is no resort fee, the hotel’s FAQ states. Taxes are added to the room rate: on Google Hotels’ card for 9 October 2026 the official site’s link carried a rate of $1,080, $151.19 of tax and a total of $1,231.19, which is 14%. The agency rate of $902 that night came to $1,028.60.

Other charges the hotel publishes are valet parking, a service charge of 20% on spa treatments, and tax and service on the brunch prices. The link does not split the 14% between state and local taxes.

Check-in from 4pm and check-out at noon, according to the hotel’s FAQ; Google Hotels shows the same times. The autumn package includes a 2pm check-out, and Booking.com gives 18 as the minimum age to check in. The restaurants do not store luggage for visiting diners, their pages warn.