Top 5: The Miami Pool Guide You Actually Need

Faena Miami Beach

The most photographed pool on South Beach, and it knows it. Damien Hirst’s gilded wooly mammoth skeleton presides over the whole scene like a very expensive joke that somehow works. The pool itself is beautiful, long, blue, framed by striped cabanas and an ocean backdrop, but the real reason to be here is the atmosphere. It is theatrical, slightly absurd, and completely committed to the bit.

Day beds require a minimum spend. Order the frozen rosé and commit fully. A plus for the stunning sunbeams right by the ocean.

The Setai

Three temperature-controlled infinity pools side by side, each a different temperature, set against a 1930s Asian Art Deco tower in the quietest corner of South Beach. The Setai does not perform. It simply is. The crowd is older, quieter, and significantly less interested in being photographed than everywhere else on this list.

If you want the most elegant pool experience in Miami without anyone asking you to move for a content shoot, this is your answer. Hotel guests only.

The Shelborne by Proper

Just reopened after a $100 million renovation and looking exactly like the 1950s Miami of your imagination: mint-green daybeds, the original diving board restored, bossa nova on the speakers, and a genuine sense of fun that the newer hotels are still trying to manufacture.

This is the one that feels most like a discovery right now. Get here before everyone else does.

1 Hotel South Beach

Rooftop, adults only, ocean views. 1 Hotel is sustainable design done beautifully, driftwood, reclaimed materials, living walls, and the rooftop pool is its best expression.

Less scene, more vibe. Bring a good playlist and a good book. The food is excellent, too.

Soho Beach House

Members and hotel guests only, which is half the point. The pool at Soho Beach House is not the most spectacular on this list, but the atmosphere is unmatched. Excellent food served poolside, a rooftop for sundowners, and the constant feeling that something interesting is about to happen.

If you are staying elsewhere, see if a member can sign you in. It is worth the effort.

While you are there, here are three hotel restaurants worth the reservation.

Los Fuegos by Francis Mallmann at Faena

The Argentine live-fire legend Francis Mallmann cooks with open flames, embers, and wood in Faena’s garden restaurant. The beef is extraordinary, the setting is theatrical, and the whole experience feels like dinner inside a very good dream. Book well in advance.

Lido at Four Seasons Surf Club, Surfside

Just north of South Beach, the Four Seasons Surf Club is the quieter, more grown-up alternative to the Miami Beach circus. Lido’s Mediterranean menu and poolside setting overlooking the ocean is the kind of lunch that turns into a very long afternoon. Voted best hotel restaurant in Miami. Worth the 15-minute drive.

Japón at The Setai

If you are not staying at The Setai, dinner here is your best excuse to get inside. Opened in 2024, the room has a gold leaf ceiling, glossy blue paneling, and a menu of contemporary Japanese cooking—tuna crispy rice, king crab roll, truffle hotpot—that more than matches the setting.