GOT LUXURY?
These Miami-area hotels, restaurants and spas earned 2023 Forbes Five-Star awards
The 2023 Forbes Travel Guide Star Awards are out, reminding us once again that when luxury is involved, some things never change.
The 2023 Five-Star list of awards for ultra glamorous hotels, spas and restaurants in the Miami area hasn’t changed much from the 2022 list. You’ll find the usual suspects, including the gorgeous, old-world Acqualina Resort, which was just named the best hotel and resort in the country by U.S. News & World Report. This is the 11th year in that the Sunny Isles Beach spot has been named a Five-Star hotel and spa, and its signature restaurant Il Mulino also made the Recommended list.
Other hotels on the 2023 FiveStar list have earned additional accolades, too. Travel website Trips to Discover recently named Faena Hotel Miami Beach one of the top five-star hotels in the country, while the Four Seasons Hotel at the Surf Club in Surfside was chosen as one of the best hotels in the world in the 2022 Condé Nast Readers’ Choice Traveler awards last fall. The Four Seasons spa was also named a Five-Star spa.
Only one Miami restaurant was judged by Forbes to be a Five-Star restaurant: the exclusive Japanese omakase bar Naoe. Two Miami Beach restaurants earned Four-Star ratings: Los Fuegos by Francis Mallman and Pao by Paul Qui, both located at Faena Hotel.
To compile the awards, Forbes Travel Guide’s inspectors check into hotels and cruise ships, dine in the restaurants and experience spa services while posing as ordinary guests. The inspectors test up to 900 standards, including modern-day luxuries and traditional elements, such as the décor. Seventy percent of a property’s rating is based on service.
FIVE-STAR HOTELS IN MIAMI-DADE
Acqualina Resort, Sunny Isles
Beach
Faena Hotel Miami Beach
Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club, Surfside
Mandarin Oriental, Miami
The Setai, Miami Beach
St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort
FIVE-STAR HOTELS IN PALM BEACH
Boca Raton Beach Club
Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach
FIVE-STAR RESTAURANT IN MIAMI-DADE
Naoe, Miami
FIVE-STAR SPAS IN MIAMI-DADE
Acqualina Spa, Sunny Isles Beach
Remède Spa Bal Harbour at St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort
The Spa at the Four Seasons at The Surf Club, Surfside
The Spa at the Mandarin Oriental, Miami
FIVE-STAR SPAS IN PALM BEACH
Eau Spa Palm Beach
Spa Palmera at Boca Raton Beach Club
FOUR-STAR HOTELS IN MIAMI-DADE
1 Hotel South Beach
Carillon Miami Wellness Resort
Fisher Island Club Hotel & Resort
Four Seasons Hotel Miami Miami Beach Edition
The Ritz-Carlton Bal Harbour The Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove
The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne The Ritz-Carlton South Beach Trump International Beach Resort Miami, Sunny Isles Beach
Trump National Doral
FOUR-STAR HOTELS IN BROWARD
The Ritz-Carlton Fort Lauderdale
FOUR-STAR HOTELS IN PALM BEACH
The Breakers, Palm Beach
FOUR-STAR RESTAURANTS IN MIAMI-DADE
Los Fuegos by Francis Mallman
Pao by Paul Qui
FOUR-STAR SPAS IN MIAMI-DADE
Aquanox Spa at Trump International, Sunny Isles Beach
Lapis the Spa at Fontainebleau, Miami Beach
Ritz-Carlton Spa South Beach The Spa at Carillon Miami Beach
The Spa at the Miami Beach Edition
Tierra Santa Healing House at Faena, Miami Beach
Valmont for the Spa at The Setai, Miami Beach
FOUR-STAR SPA IN BROWARD
Conrad Spa at Conrad Fort Lauderdale Beach
FOUR-STAR SPA IN PALM BEACH
The Spa at the Breakers, Palm Beach
RECOMMENDED HOTELS IN MIAMI-DADE
The Betsy South Beach
The Biltmore, Coral Gables Fontainebleau Miami Beach Loews Miami Beach Hotel
RECOMMENDED HOTELS IN BROWARD
Conrad, Fort Lauderdale
RECOMMENDED HOTELS IN THE FLORIDA KEYS
Little Palm Island Resort & Spa, Little Torch Key
The Marker, Key West
RECOMMENDED RESTAURANTS
Bourbon Steak Miami by Michael Mina, Aventura
Hakkasan Miami at Fontainebleau
Il Mulino New York at Acqualina Resort, Sunny Isles Beach
Matador Room at Miami
Beach Edition
Scarpetta Miami Beach at Fontainebleau
Connie Ogle: 305-376-3649, @OgleConnie