Over Memorial Day weekend, fighter jets were looping over the Atlantic and families lined the sand for Miami Beach’s annual air show. Inside the Delano, a Travel & Leisure editor found something close to calm. A manager met the writer outside shortly after arrival and said the suite was already ready, even though check-in came early in the morning.
That welcome set the tone for a three-night stay at a hotel that has just reopened after a multiyear restoration costing more than $100 million. It now has 171 guest rooms and suites, a culinary partnership with the French Paris Society group, a private members’ club and a wellness concept still to come.
Same bones, warmer skin
The sheer white curtains survive, folded more quietly into the architecture. Restored octagonal columns and historical details sit next to soft textures. The old stark white has given way to creams, and curves soften the edges. The reviewer called the result more mature.
Familiar faces came back too, said chief brand officer Ben Pundole, among them concierge Fernando Montealegre and Rose Bar bar manager Will Stribling. One evening a concert pianist sat down at Lenny Kravitz’s transparent Lucite piano in the Rose Bar and played an impromptu set. Restored Murano glass chandeliers, marble and low seating make it, in the reviewer’s words, one of Miami Beach’s most atmospheric rooms.
Rooms and food
The reviewer stayed in a 602-square-foot Partial Ocean View King Suite with a living room, a big closet, a soaking tub and views of both city and water. Motorized blackout shades turn it dark at night. The two-story Poolside Bungalows run nearly 1,000 square feet. At the top, the Ocean View Penthouse covers 2,824 square feet with three bedrooms and several terraces, while the City View Penthouse has an outdoor entertaining area with a fire pit.
Paris Society’s first U.S. hotel partnership drives the food. Gigi Rigolatto handles the beachfront with a Mediterranean-leaning menu; the crab pasta and whole fish stood out. The most memorable dinner was at Mimi Kakushi, the Osaka-inspired restaurant on the members’ club level, open to hotel guests, where the sushi, crab and lobster showed more ambition than most hotel kitchens.
The fourth floor also holds a fitness center with custom white Technogym equipment and a private pool for members and guests. Children are welcome in the mornings. The Source by Delano, a spa in the former Florida Room nightclub space, had not opened during the stay. It is planned to include treatments, classes and a 22-seat communal sauna.
Nightly rates start at $395. Members of All Accor can save up to 10 percent.
