Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club ★★★★★

A 1930s Landmark Where Churchill and Sinatra Once Swam

The Surf Club opened on New Year's Eve 1930, designed by architect Russell T. Pancoast on nine oceanfront acres in what is now Surfside. Within a few decades it had hosted Winston Churchill, Frank Sinatra, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and Elizabeth Taylor, known for poolside fashion shows staged by Elizabeth Arden and black-tie galas that ran until dawn. Fort Partners' Nadim Ashi restored the Pancoast building and brought in Four Seasons to run it, keeping the Mediterranean Revival structure and its beachside cabanas rather than clearing the site for something new, at a time when much of the surrounding coastline was being rebuilt from scratch.

Why It Works

We picked the Surf Club for the rare alignment of a real historic building, a design restoration by Joseph Dirand rather than a generic luxury refit, and a culinary program anchored by Thomas Keller's Surf Club Restaurant alongside Marco Calenzo's Lido. Just 77 rooms keep the property intimate against its history, and the private beach, three pools and hammam give the day-to-day stay as much weight as the name on the building and the guests who once passed through it.

Why This Location

Surfside sits a few minutes north of South Beach's crowds, on a quiet stretch of Collins Avenue that keeps the energy of Miami Beach without its density. Bal Harbour's shopping is a short walk north, and Miami International Airport is roughly a 30-minute drive, close enough for a weekend that spends its time on the sand rather than in transit, with the Design District a short ride away for a change of scene at dinner.

Fast Facts

• Price: Ultra-luxury Book the oceanfront rooms over the garden-view category if the budget allows: at the Surf Club, the extra cost buys a direct line of sight to the same stretch of sand Sinatra once walked.

• Vibe: 1930s glamour, restored rather than reinvented

• Rooms: 77 rooms and suites

• Best For: Couples and travellers seeking Miami Beach history over new-build glass towers

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: The original 1930 Pancoast building and cabanas, still standing and in use

• Dining: Thomas Keller's Surf Club Restaurant, Marco Calenzo's Lido, Winston's on the Beach, Champagne Bar

• Amenities: Private beach, three pools, hammam, spa, kids' club, valet parking

• Attractions: Bal Harbour Shops, South Beach, Miami Design District

Thomas Keller's Kitchen Inside a Pancoast Landmark

The Surf Club Restaurant carries Thomas Keller's name and standards into a dining room built into the original clubhouse, while Marco Calenzo's Lido covers a lighter, more Mediterranean register by the pool. Winston's on the Beach and the Champagne Bar round out a day that can move from breakfast to sunset drinks without leaving the property, an unusual density of serious dining for a hotel this size, in a city where most kitchens this good sit inside standalone restaurants rather than a 77-room hotel.

Joseph Dirand's Restoration, Room by Room

Interior architect Joseph Dirand kept the restoration close to the building's 1930s bones, favouring restraint over the maximalism common to Miami Beach's newer luxury builds. Guest rooms and public spaces alike read as updated rather than replaced, which is precisely the point: the 77 rooms sit inside a property where the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and Elizabeth Taylor once socialised, its cabanas and pool deck largely unchanged in outline since 1930.

Before You Book

Check-in is at 4 p.m. and check-out at noon; pets are welcome, though the hotel does not list step-free accessibility, so guests with that need should confirm ahead. Given the 77-room count against the draw of Keller's restaurant, dinner reservations should be made well before arrival, particularly on weekends during the winter high season, when Surfside's small-town scale fills up fastest.