A landmark hotel in Miami Beach just got a $55M makeover before Art Basel

Loews Miami Beach Hotel is nearing completion of a $55 million renovation that it hopes will keep it well positioned in the growing, increasingly competitive high-end market in South Florida.

One of the region’s most popular hotels, 1601 Collins Ave., has upgraded all 790 guest rooms. Bathrooms are new too, as are floors, furniture and fixtures.

The work began in May, right after Mother’s Day weekend, and hotel executives set a goal to finish before Art Basel, which begins officially Dec. 5 but has private events starting Dec. 3.

They say they’re on track to finish by Dec. 1, which is the start of Miami Art Week.

“We are on schedule,” Mutluhan Kucuk, complex managing director for Loews Hotel & Co., said in an interview with the Miami Herald. “We are going to finish right before Art Basel.”

Keep up or stay ahead of other hotels

The improvements at the Loews Miami Beach come as luxury offerings in South Florida are increasing.

High-end Aman Miami Beach, under construction, is progressing. Existing hotels are also upgrading: The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne will reopen in December and the Delano Miami Beach in March 2026. The Mandarin Oriental on Brickell Key closed in May and will be rebuilt as a smaller, more exclusive hotel and private residences, beginning in 2030.

The increasing number of new luxury hotels or resorts available combined with the quantity of places under renovation this year — many preparing for the 2026 World Cup — helped motivate the Loews to do the upgrade earlier than it normally would have.

“We want to protect our position of leading the market,” Kucuk said. “People are realizing if you’re not upgrading and sharpening the pencil, you’re probably going to be left behind.”

Guests will stop coming, he said, if they don’t see a place improving.

Hotels usually wait 12 to 15 years to embark on major renovations, the Loews executive noted.

“We didn’t want to wait.”

Loews’ last major upgrade was in 2016, for $50 million.

“It’s not that common to go under the knife nine years later,” Kucuk said.

The 17-story Loews Miami Beach opened on Christmas Eve 1998. It’s owned and operated by Loews Hotels & Co, which owns about 26 hotels in the U.S. and Canada. The company is owned by the Tisch family and led by President & CEO, Alex Tisch, who took over about three years ago from Jonathan Tisch.

Miami Beach is the brand’s flagship hotel and sets the tone for the company.

The upgrades at the Loews Miami Beach

So, what has changed in the newest renovation?

Guests checking in will find rooms with hardwood floors topped with small rugs to prevent getting cold feet. They were previously tile and vinyl.

“We felt that hard floors represents luxury,” Kucuk said.

The walls are also new. Televisions are now mounted on the walls. They used to sit on the credenza. That change was made because “we wanted to give a residential feel,” the hotel executive said.

The bathrooms now feature porcelain tiles. Wall coverings add warmth. Showers are new, with mobile fixtures.

Each room also has new furniture. Curtains have been upgraded, too. Suites come with bedside benches.

The lighting and colors in the rooms don’t evoke Miami in the typical sense. There’s no aqua or orange, or flashing neon lights. The goal was to make guests feel more at home.

The hotel’s long hallways were remodeled and got a new color scheme. Corridors are broken up with color changes and elevated columns protruding from the wall.

“Otherwise it feels like a Vegas hotel, too big,” Kucuk said.

Rooms now all have doorbells. Hotel staff ring those instead of knocking on doors. Guest can control them from inside the room, requesting to not be bothered or for the room to be cleaned.

“The only thing unchanged was the mattress which was 2 years old and the TVs which were installed last year,” said Loews’ boss.

The hotel stayed open throughout the renovations that began in May. About three floors at a time were remodeled. The architectural firm was Meyer Davis, which also designed the 1 Hotel South Beach, Mr. C Residences in Coconut Grove and Auberge Beach Residences and Spa in Fort Lauderdale.

A more basic room now runs an average of $500 per night, with a high of $900. A suite goes for between $1,500 nightly and $2,000, the rate in December.

If those prices are too steep, travelers don’t have to stay overnight to get a taste of the renovations. The lobby bar was also upgraded. It’s now bistro style. The sushi bar has also been improved and now operates independently.

This story was originally published November 29, 2025 at 5:00 AM.