The Most Exciting Miami Hotel Openings of 2016

Hotels, by definition, are for tourists. Yet Miami locals love hotels. We love eating at their restaurants, sneaking into their pools, dancing at their clubs, sometimes waking up in their beds next to Brazilians we met at the clubs — you know how it goes.

There's no short supply of jaw-dropping new hotels in the pipeline either. An estimated 6,000 hotel rooms are either under construction or in the final planning phases in Miami-Dade. Here's a look at some of the most buzzed-about hotels that will debut this year, so you can get a head start on your pool-crashing plans.

East Hotel (Brickell) 
Opening in spring 


East Hotels come from, well, the East. The Hong Kong-based hotel chain is already popular with Chinese jet-setters and is slated to open its first American location atop the Brickell City Centre project. Featuring 352 rooms, the hotel promises each will have breathtaking views of surrounding Brickell through floor-to-ceiling windows. Local architecture firm Arquitectonica handled the bones of the building, while renowned New York interior designer Clodagh is responsible for making the inside pretty. Foodies can look forward to the opening of Quinto La Huella, an offshoot of a famous Uruguayan restaurant (because this is the only town in the world where an Uruguayan restaurant in a Chinese hotel makes sense). Partiers should also keep tabs on Sugar, the 40th-floor rooftop bar (not to be confused with the Coral Way gay club that has since reverted to the name Azucar).

The Langford (Downtown)
Opening in March


The Langford will finally open in the historic home of the BeauxArts Miami National Bank this year, and it's embracing its heritage. You won't get any of that clean, minimalist, all-white design with shocking touches of color like so many inns in Miami Beach. The rooms in the Langford recall 1920s Manhattan as much as they do 2016 Miami. That's fitting for a building on the National Register of Historic Places. The hotel will also feature two new hospitality concepts from the Pubbelly boys: PB Station and Pawnbroker. 

Me by Melia (Downtown)
Opening March 1

Apparently, the Maquis condo building in downtown had a hotel in it all along. Who knew? It certainly wasn't a hot spot. Two years ago, the building decided to rebrand and expand the 56-room Casa Moderna into the roughly 125-room Me Miami. Me is yet another popular international chain that will make its American debut in Miami. The hotel will also bring STK Rebel, a new concept from the STK steakhouse chain, when it opens in a few months. 

Nobu Hotel at the Eden Rock (Mid-Beach)
Opening in fall 

Yes, this is a hotel within a hotel that's a brand extension of a chain of high-priced sushi joints co-owned by Robert De Niro. It works at Las Vegas' Ceaser's Palace, and they hope it'll work at Miami Beach's Eden Rock. The subhotel will take up the Eden Roc's South Tower and will blend the Japanese restaurant's aesthetics with the Roc's classic Miami Beach vibe. 

Four Seasons Surf Club (Surfside)
Opening in fall

The Surf Club (not to be confused with the Shore Club, which itself is getting a makeover set to debut in 2018) is a historic hotel and condominium in Surfside. Winston Churchill once stayed there, but to make the most of the land around it, Four Seasons brought in Pritzker Prize-winning architect Richard Meier to design three glass midrise towers. The middle tower will serve as a Four Seasons resort. The new hotel will also feature the Churchill Bar. (Not to be confused with the Little Haiti punk club, Churchill's Pub. Seriously, would it kill some hotels to run their bar names by some locals first?) 

SLS Brickell

Well, at least the building itself is scheduled to be finished sometime this year. There's no official word yet when the hotel will open, though. When it does, it will feature interior design by Philippe Starck. 

Atton Brickell 

Yes, this is a third international brand making its debut in America in Miami this year. Atton is a Chilean chain that will set up in Brickell this spring. It will feature 275 rooms on 12 floors.