These hotels in Miami, Key West are the best in Florida, says Condé Nast Traveler
What are the best hotels and resorts in and around Miami and Key West? Condé Nast Traveler readers have a few ideas.
The travel site has just released its 34th annual 2021 Readers Choice Awards, breaking down the winners into many confusingly specific categories. It also differentiates between hotels and resorts, which offer guests more amenities.
One Miami hotel made the Best in the World list, but Condé Nast Traveler also honored other hotels and resorts around South Florida. Here’s a breakdown of the properties in Miami-Dade, the Florida Keys and Broward County.
Best hotels in the world
More than 800,000 registered Condé Nast Traveler voters chose the Best 50 hotels in the World, and only one Miami property made the list: Freehand Miami, a luxury hostel in Miami Beach. “The decision to stay here goes beyond budget; there’s a deep feeling of kinship among the (largely millennial) guests, and it’s that sense of community that seems to be the Freehand’s greatest asset,” Condé Nast Traveler wrote, going on to praise 27 Restaurant and the Broken Shaker and its famous cocktails.
La Mamounia in Marrakech, Morocco, was ranked as the No. 1 hotel in the world.
Best hotels in Miami
For its Top 20 Hotels in Miami list, Condé Nast Traveler ranked Freehand Miami No. 1 hotel in Miami (obviously). It did not bother readers, apparently, that Freehand is actually in Miami Beach. Faena Hotel Miami Beach, a Forbes Five-Star hotel, came in at No. 2, with Nobu Hotel Miami Beach at No. 3.
The rest of the top 10: Hotel Colonnade Coral Gables; Como Metropolitan Miami Beach; The Standard Spa Miami Beach; Generator Miami; the Fontainebleau; SLS Lux Brickell and Loews Miami Beach Hotel.
Best hotels in Florida that aren’t in Miami
Yes! There’s also a list for the Top 15 Hotels In Florida (that are not in Miami). This list includes The Perry Hotel Key West (2); Kimpton Key West (3); Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club in Surfside; 24 North Hotel Key West.
The No. 1 ranked hotel was The Chesterfield Palm Beach.
Best resorts in Florida that aren’t in Orlando or the Keys
For the third consecutive year, the JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa, home to kid-friendly Tidal Cove Water Park, was rated at the top of the Top 20 Resorts in Florida (not in Orlando or the Keys). Oceanfront old-world charmer Acqualina Resort, which was named best waterfront hotel in the U.S. earlier this year in USA Today’s 2021 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards, was ranked no. 4 on the list, with the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne coming in at No. 5.
Other local resorts that made the top 20: Pelican Grand Bay Resort in Fort Lauderdale (8); Margaritaville Hollywood Beach (10); Lago Mar Beach Resort & Club in Fort Lauderdale; and Trump National Doral Miami (15).
Top resorts in the Florida Keys
Baker’s Cay Resort Key Largo, Curio Collection by Hilton was the favorite Keys resort in Top 15 Resorts in the Florida Keys. Little Palm Island Resort & Spa on Little Torch Key, which made Condé Nast’s 2021 Hot List, was No. 2, with old favorite Pier House Resort & Spa at No. 3.
Family-oriented resort Hawk’s Cay on Duck Key, named best family resort in the United States by USA Today’s 10Best Readers Choice Awards in 2020, came in at No. 7, while the following Key West resorts rounded out the rest of the top 10: Ocean Key Resort & Spa; Sunset Key Cottages; Hyatt Centric Key West Resort; Opal Key Resort & Marina; Playa Largo Resort & Spa; and Parrot Key Hotel & Villas.
This story was originally published October 7, 2021 at 6:00 AM.