Gay Miami Miami City Guide

Curation by Yasmina Rodríguez, words by Casey Siemasko

Think of Miami and the first images to come to mind are probably of famed South Beach: pastel-coloured Art-Deco buildings, aquamarine water, glitzy nightclubs full of glamorous, sun-kissed beauties. There’s no denying the allure of Miami Beach—or that the city lives up to its reputation as a haven of good-looking, party-loving people. But the Miami Beach stereotypes barely crack the surface of all Miami has to offer. Head across the causeway, and you’ll find an up-and-coming foodie movement, a buzzing art scene and vibrant Hispanic culture. Miami is considered one of the most gay-friendly cities in the world, and it shows. No visit is complete without a day of lounging at 12th Street Beach, a proudly gay gathering spot on South Beach that’s marked by the lifeguard station’s billowing rainbow flags. Looking for the ultimate Miami gay guide? Mr Hudson has got you covered.

The best hotels in Miami

Miami’s most captivating hotels are strung along the oceanfront of Miami Beach, placing you within effortless reach of pristine white sand, world-class dining and the city’s legendary after-dark culture. For pure theatrical drama, few properties on earth rival the Faena Hotel Miami Beach. Occupying an eight-block stretch of prime Mid-Beach real estate, this is the vision of Argentine developer Alan Faena and architect Rem Koolhaas — a fever dream of gold-leaf ceilings, jewel-toned interiors and Carrara marble bathrooms, presided over by a gilded woolly mammoth skeleton by Damien Hirst. Between the Tierra Santa Healing House spa, the Saxony Bar’s late-night vinyl sessions and Francis Mallmann’s open-fire asados at Los Fuegos, the Faena is a destination unto itself.

Faena Hotel Miami Beach

For an altogether different sensibility, The Setai Miami Beach weaves the aesthetics of the Far East — teakwood walls, salvaged Shanghai brick floors, artful restraint — into a lovingly restored 1936 Art Deco landmark at the heart of South Beach. The three temperature-controlled infinity pools, each set to a different degree of warmth, are the stuff of legend, as is the Spa by Valmont and the trio of distinct dining concepts, ranging from South Asian flavours at Jaya to Mediterranean-Italian cuisine at the Ocean Grill. The Miami Beach EDITION, meanwhile, is Ian Schrager’s mid-beach triumph — architecturally minimal yet irresistibly magnetic. Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Matador Room serves inventive Latin-inflected cuisine in an elegant oval dining room, while the Basement nightclub, complete with bowling lanes and an ice-skating rink, ensures no evening need end prematurely.

Finally, no Miami property carries quite the mythology of Villa Casa Casuarina. Originally commissioned in 1930, Gianni Versace purchased the villa in the early 1990s and transformed it into his personal palazzo — the iconic pool is tiled with thousands of 24-karat gold pieces. Versace was tragically murdered on the mansion’s steps in 1997. Today it operates as an intimate boutique hotel, restaurant and bar, its original opulence entirely intact.