In the quiet residential enclave of Surfside, ensconced between the skin-revealing glitter of Miami Beach proper and the buttoned-up flash of Bal Harbour, the Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club is a timeless and all-welcoming, new-fashioned take on old-school glamour. Opened in 2017, the hotel builds upon the illustrious circa 1931 beach club that hosted America’s most distinguished throughout the mid 20th century, including Gary Cooper, Winston Churchill, Frank Sinatra, and Elizabeth Taylor, for fashion-forward parties, beach soirees, and alcohol-fueled overnights—epic enough to enshrine The Surf Club into Florida cultural history (and merit a standalone Assouline coffee-table book).
Today, the beachfront legend continues with the resurrection of The Surf Club to its full Mediterranean Revival architectural glory, now enveloped by a series of three, 12-story, modernist glass-framed towers. In 72 of the 77 guest rooms and suites in the new towers, glass balconies give way to soothing interiors by famed Paris-based creator Joseph Dirand, delivering design studies in midcentury-modern updated for the present day, underscored by juxtapositions of travertine–finished spaces, clean-lined (yet curvaceous) hybrid furnishings, and tastefully gilded accents. (A similar style prevails in the five lower-level Ocean Bungalows, which occupy architect Russell T. Pancoast’s beach cabanas of yore.) The restored historic building oozes vintage glam from all corners, down to the black marble check-in desk (where a fully stocked complimentary Champagne cart awaits upon arrival) and Lido Restaurant and Champagne Bar, the Club’s former ballroom, thoughtfully transformed into a drop-dead gorgeous, local-frequented Italian hotspot. —Paul Rubio
