Sprawled along a swath of white sand and turquoise waters, Faena Hotel Miami Beach pops with its cherry-red-and-white-patterned umbrellas. And while the ocean steals the spotlight at most beachfront hotels, there’s much more to see here. Every corner of the Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star hotel’s six-block art district showcases bold design, striking art and over-the-top glamour that looks straight out of a Baz Luhrmann movie (it’s because the famed director and his set designer/costumer wife, Catherine Martin, were creative consultants at the property).
Faena’s Instagram feed provides a glimpse of this spectacle of a hotel, all splashed in its signature ruby shade. From its bright spa to its atmospheric cabaret theater, Faena is an Instagram dream, which is why it won Forbes Travel Guide’s 2023 Hotel Instagram of the Year prize as part of the annual Star Awards.
For this particular accolade, Forbes Travel Guide’s editorial department culled five nominees (which included Casa Angelina in the Amalfi Coast; Mandarin Oriental, New York; The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands; and Villa d’Este, Lago di Como) from the highest-performing luxury hotel posts on FTG’s own Instagram account in 2022. Then readers and followers chose their favorite feed in an online survey. The Miami Beach stunner earned the honor for curating a feed that radiates personality, spurs wanderlust and has an overall stunning aesthetic.
Take a tour of our fourth annual Hotel Instagram of the Year winner’s property:
Faena’s most famous artwork, English artist Damien Hirst’s Gone But Not Forgotten, sits outside in a vitrine. The extraordinary nearly 10-foot-tall gilded woolly mammoth skeleton makes you consider life and death, myth and legend, and evolution and science.
Instead of a lobby with desks and luggage, Faena welcomes you in its Cathedral, a gleaming gold-leaf-covered space lined with eight murals from Argentine artist Juan Gatti that offers a view of Miami Beach.
Colorful rooms immerse you in late art deco design with a touch of 1950s glamour and a South American twist.
Take in the bright blue of Miami Beach from your room’s balcony.
At Los Fuegos, Argentine grill master Francis Mallmann practices the ancient art of South American live-fire cooking amid stylish surroundings.
Under a gold-leaf enveloped dome, a red and gold unicorn stands guard at the modern Asian eatery Pao by chef Paul Qui. Another Hirst piece, The Myth dissects the boundaries between legend and reality.
The glowing Saxony Bar pays homage to Faena’s predecessor, the historic Saxony Hotel. The bar serves as a sexy speakeasy and exclusive late-night lounge.
A 22,000-square-foot sanctuary, the Four-Star Tierra Santa Healing House features one of the largest hammams on the East Coast, along with shaman-developed body-healing treatments and cutting-edge facials.
Even the red-hued accommodations feature distinctive art.
