In his 1997 hit "Miami", Will Smith sings, “I only came for two days of playing, but every time I come I always wind up staying.” We understand why. Miami is brimming with things to do and see, as well as having a hugely diverse culinary scene and world-renowned bars on almost every corner. The Florida metropolis is home to more than 150 different ethnicities and more than 60 languages. Fewer than 100 years ago Miami was a swamp and now it is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, full of incredible art deco architecture and surrounded by pristine beaches – there’s no wonder David Beckham set up his MLS franchise here. From things to do in Miami's coolest districts to the hottest hotels, via the best restaurants, bars and, of course, clubs, here's how to make the most of America's magic city.
Where to stay
A condo or villa via Luxury Rentals Miami Beach
Residences are central to the Miami hotel scene, with private apartments within the city’s best hotels promising an even better experience than the most stunning suites. Front and centre is Luxury Rentals Miami Beach, who, with 65 top-tier properties in different hotel residences in Miami Beach, offer a service that’s second to none. GQ stayed in a show-stopping “condo” at South Beach’s 1 Hotel, an ultra high-end eco hotel known as Miami’s natural paradise, which occupies an entire city block on Collins Avenue and is home to four ocean-view swimming pools plus South Beach's largest rooftop pool. Also on Luxury Rental’s books are The Setai, W South Beach, Conrad Residences, Fontainebleau Sorrento, the Ritz Carlton and more, not to mention a large roster of incredible villas. These are proper, typically Miamian properties: Villa Monterro is a nine-bedroom, waterfront mansion; Villa Venetian, a Scandi-style smart home, complete with a private rooftop pool and a closet bigger than most London flats. Then you’ve got Villa Kristna on the Venetian Islands, an ivy-covered bolthole with marble stairs and some gloriously art-deco touches (the pastel bathrooms proving a case in point).
At all of Luxury Rental Miami Beach’s properties, you can expect sea-views, first-class amenities and a personal concierge, on hand to help with everything from check in to arranging bespoke experiences. From booking – aided by a condo specialist – to checking out, the whole process of arranging a stay is beautifully streamlined, made even easier should you choose a hotel residence, thanks to access to facilities from pools to gyms. Perhaps the best thing about this service, however, is the team’s willingness to arrange, well, anything for you during your stay: yacht charter, a private chef, water sports, groceries (one of the most fabulous things about getting a rental is having access to your own kitchen, especially for us Europeans unused to Miami’s mammoth portions), babysitting, a car… your wish is their demand. Even better is the in-room iPad one uses to book, which comes packed with Miami tips, too.
Enquire now via phone +1 855-998-5393 or at luxuryrentalsmiamibeach.com
If you’re looking to immerse yourself in the art and culture of the place, look no further than the Faena Hotel Miami Beach. The Faena District in Miami’s Mid-Beach is rapidly turning into a creative epicentre. All the buildings in this district complement each other in style and design, however there are none better than the Faena Hotel Miami Beach. With the help of Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin, Alan Faena, was able to create an artful visual language recalling glamour form the Fifties. The hotel has three restaurants, two bars, a theatre, white-sand private beach, swimming pool and a beautiful spa. As part of the hotel’s commitment to transform the ordinary to extraordinary, its walls boast work by an impressive list of artists including Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons.
From £346 per night. 3,201 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33140. faena.com
From your first step into the lobby you can tell this is somewhere that has had a hand in the resurgence of Miami as a city. The immaculate marble floors, white pearl Venetian walls, indoor palm trees and ocean views immediately give you the sense of freedom and all those “was my handover thorough enough?” worries disappear. Each of the 294 rooms and suites are all generously sized and elegantly designed to give a beach house feel. On site there are numerous places to eat and drink (further details below) as well as two swimming pools and a beach.
From £249 per night. 2,901 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33140. editionhotels.com
Where to eat
Mandrake might just be Miami’s most Instagrammable restaurant, which is saying something, given this is a city that seems entirely populated by identikit influencers. The decor is wild, weird and really, really wonderful, with numerous ultra-luxe rooms decorated with paper parasols, wall gardens, ornate Chinese woodwork, gilded mirrors, neon art and even a life-size gold gorilla statue (plus, of course, the requisite photo wall, where Kim Kardashian look-a-likes line up to swing their ponytails slowly enough for their long-suffering partners to capture at just the right angle). This is the fun, super-sexy place to see and be seen, with late-night seatings and a killer cocktail list (make yours the El Macho, made from mezcal, mango and habanero). And the food? It tastes every bit as spectacular as the place looks, with a menu of modern Asian dishes from sushi to to a sizzling tomahawk steak. There’s no shortage of choice, but GQ’s favourites have to be the duck gyoza and the whole fish tempura. We really ought to mention the faultless service, too. Attentive, helpful, on the ball but also wonderfully discreet: the staff are proof that the Mandrake has substance, as well as serious style.
210 23rd St, Miami Beach, FL 33140. mandrakemiami.com
Since exploding onto Miami's dining scene in 2016, KYU has become a lively millennial hotspot, with flawlessly adventurous Asian-fusion cuisine drawing in the foodies, and the restaurant's dark, industrial space (featuring concrete walls and a moody playlist of Nineties hip-hop) pulling in the hipsters. You'll need to make your reservation at least a week in advance – because these millennials are organised. A brainchild of former Zuma chef Michael Lewis and GM Steven Haigh, KYU (named after its semblance to the Japanese word for grilled meat, yakiniku) is not one for vegans. Standout dishes on the menu include the gloriously supple wagyu beef brisket from the wood-fired section of the menu, the soft and crispy Korean fried chicken, and the creamy, lightly spiced Thai fried rice stone pot topped with a fried egg and king crab. Forget wine, because KYU is all about the cocktails, offering a special set menu chosen by the chef ($75) paired with its best classic drinks. One cocktail GQ won't forget: The Wynwood Mule, with house-smoked pineapple, Russian Standard Vodka, lime, bitters and ginger beer, served (of course!) in an artsy tin can.
KYU, 251 NW 25th St, Miami, FL 33127. kyurestaurants.com
A single hour at Nikki Beach is enough to turn the mildest of celebrations into a full-on party extravaganza, featuring dancers covered in giant fuchsia feathers, bottles of Moet fizzing with multi-coloured sparklers, and fronting this mad-hatter parade: an entire brass band. After navigating serenading waiters and bejewelled Instagram models snapping the perfect shot by one of the poolside cabanas, find a shaded table beneath the flower canopy and stock up on sustenance before sunset – when the DJs dial it up from breezy pop to tropical house – with sushi boats, super-fresh ceviche and frozen margaritas.
1 Ocean Dr, Miami Beach, FL 33139. miami-beach.nikkibeach.com
On Sunset Drive in South Miami, Shelley’s is located in the historic Shelley Building. The eclectic seafood-based menu holds locally sourced ingredients with influences from the African diaspora. Shelley’s is somewhere you can pop in for oysters accompanied with one of their signature bottled or frozen cocktails or settle in for the evening with their fine-dining experience. We highly recommend sharing the mofongo fritters, field mushrooms and oysters and tucking into the fish collars for the main.
5,845 Sunset Drive, South Miami, FL 33143. shelleysmiami.com
Not to be confused with East London’s amazing foodie magazine Root + Bone. Root & Bone is located in the Shelboure South Beach Hotel, having started in New York by the newly engaged power couple, Jeff McInnis and Janine Booth. The menu serving "honest Southern food" is based on McInnis’ roots with autograph dishes such as "drunken" devilled eggs, "Grandma Daisy’s angel biscuits" and fried chicken. A real winner.
The Shelborne Hotel, 1,801 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139. shelborne.com/dining
Bodega Taqueria Y Tequila pays the optimum homage to taco truck culture. Found in Miami’s South Beach, it serves the city’s best Mexican street food. It may not look like much from the outside, but through the industrial meat-locker door, the space comes alive with an open-late speakeasy bar, blaring Latin-American music and often projecting Netflix’s Narcos series on the walls. There's also a $2 taco happy hour every day - a must.
1,220 16th Street, Miami Beach, FL 33139. bodegasouthbeach.com
Where to drink
There’s always that one friend in the group who decides to “risk” the dress code by wearing shorts and trainers to a venue that specifies these very items of clothing are forbidden. This might wash in London, where venues are so desperate to fill their dwindling dance floors they’ll let almost anyone in waving an ID and a tenner, but at swanky pop haven LIV Miami, housed beneath the five-star Fontainebleau Hotel, you’ll go properly, or you’ll go home – literally. After stopping for an Espresso Martini at the hotel’s Bleau Bar – named after the 360 aqua colour scheme, popping under neon blue lights – follow the snaking queue of stilettos and crisp white shirts downstairs to LIV’s enormous split-level club (with a requisite stop by the Instagram booth on the way). Treat yourself to a VIP table (there’s little hope for personal space without one), and a bottle of champagne, and place your bets on the surprise guest – GQ got Jayden Smith.
Fontainebleau Hotel, 4441 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33140. livnightclub.com
You might think Miami’s best bars line its white-sand coast, but Broken Shaker’s unique urban spot away from the water (and the tourists) is renowned for the finest quality cocktails around town. Get there for happy hour (between 5-7pm Mon-Fri), and start strong with a Dusk Till Dawn, mixing illegal mezcal, Chinola passion fruit, acidified orange juice and grenadine. The no-nonsense presentation matches up with the mood: this is a bar for punters allergic to Miami’s dress-to-impress crowd, who just want to kick back to a quirky playlist of reggae and rock.
2727 Indian Creek Dr, Miami Beach, FL 33140, freehandhotels.com/miami/broken-shaker
A stone’s throw from the up-and-coming Collins Park, Sweet Liberty is one of South Beach's finest cocktail bars. The space is midcentury Americana meets tropical industrial. The walls are covered with memorabilia, with comfy retro booths, making it an ideal spot to unwind with some award-winning cocktails after a day in the sun.
237 20th Street B, Miami Beach, FL 33139. mysweetliberty.com
Whether you are a hotel guest or just passing by, the Edition welcomes everyone and is packed with some amazing hospitality spots and activities inside the resort. The Matador Bar is the perfect places to start your evening or, in fact, to end it. Whichever you chose, be sure to check out the bowling alley downstairs as well as the ice-skating rink – yes *ice-skating *in Miami.
2,901 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, FL 33140. editionhotels.com
In Brickell City Centre, on the 40th floor of East, is a beautiful rooftop and gardens with a 360-degree view of the city. In the middle of it all is Sugar, an Asian-influenced restaurant and bar. The menu is equipped with an impressive selection of cocktails as well as some authentic Asian plates. Sugar is the perfect place to settle in for sundowners and nibbles.
788 Brickell Plaza, Miami, FL 33131. sugar-miami.com
Things to do
Wynwood is becoming increasingly popular with Miamians and tourists and you don’t have to be there for more than two minutes to understand why. The whole district is overflowing with incredible street art from local creatives and world-famous names alike, who have chosen this Miami neighbourhood as a canvas for their work.
A swimming pool full of sprinkles? Miami is the fourth location for the Museum Of Ice Cream, having started in New York and then expanded to the West Coast. Originally set to end in January 2018, the Miami location has extended their stay more than once and it’s no wonder. The museums have had over half a million visitors, from Beyoncé to the Beckhams and all in between.
A mansion once owned by one of fashion's most talented designers and saddest stories, Gianni Versace. Versace’s former home and the site of his murder in 1997, complete with Medusa mosaics, is now a beautiful hotel called The Villa Casa Casuarina, as named by the original owner in 1930.
1,116 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach, FL 33139. vmmiamibeach.com
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