Two Miami Beach icons, nine blocks and a world apart. Book The Setai for serene, Forbes Five-Star calm in the heart of South Beach. Book The Miami Beach EDITION for Ian Schrager's larger, playful Mid-Beach resort, ice rink and all.
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Same beach, opposite temperaments.
The Setai sits at 2001 Collins, in the middle of South Beach. It is built around a restored Art Deco landmark and a slim oceanfront tower, with about 140 rooms and suites, three pools set to different temperatures, and a decade of Forbes Five-Star awards. The mood is quiet, dark-toned and grown-up. You stay here to be looked after and to be steps from Ocean Drive without the noise following you inside.
The Miami Beach EDITION is nine blocks north at 2901 Collins, in calmer Mid-Beach. It is Ian Schrager's design resort: around 294 rooms on a 3.5-acre oceanfront enclave, two pools, and a basement that hides a nightclub, a bowling alley and an ice rink. The mood is light, playful and social. You stay here for the energy and the built-in fun.
One is a hushed, central jewel box; the other a larger resort that makes its own scene. The case for each follows, with the honest trade-offs.
| The Setai Miami Beach | The Miami Beach EDITION | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | About 140 keys; 90 rooms and 50 suites | Larger; around 294 rooms and suites |
| Neighbourhood | South Beach, 2001 Collins; central, walkable | Mid-Beach, 2901 Collins; quieter, oceanfront enclave |
| Style | Serene Art Deco and Asian-influenced calm | Ian Schrager design-hotel, light and playful |
| Pools | Three temperature-graded pools | Two ocean-facing pools, livelier scene |
| On-site fun | Spa-led, refined, grown-up | Nightclub, bowling alley, ice rink |
| Best for | Calm, service, a central base, couples | Design, energy, families, a longer resort stay |
What you get: The calmer, more polished of the two, a restrained Art Deco landmark in central South Beach, with three graded pools and service that has held a Forbes Five-Star rating for a decade.
The Setai's edge is composure. The design is dark, spare and quietly Asian-influenced, and the staff-to-guest ratio shows in the detail. Its signature is the trio of pools, each set to a different temperature and lined up toward the sea in a calm courtyard. With around 140 keys it stays intimate despite its South Beach address, and that address is the point: Ocean Drive, Lincoln Road and the district's restaurants are a short walk away, yet the hotel itself is a hush. It is the better pick for couples and for anyone who rates service and serenity above buzz.
Honest trade-off: The hushed, grown-up tone is not for everyone, families with young children and travellers who want a party scene can find it too quiet, and its rates sit at the very top of the Miami market. Who this isn't for: guests who want a lively pool day, built-in entertainment and lots of room to spread out will prefer the EDITION.
Weighted: Service 25%, Rooms 20%, Romance / Value / Food 15% each, Location 10%. Scores are HotelsForKings editorial judgments of the hotel's luxury offer, not guest review averages.
What you get: The larger, livelier choice, a design-led resort on a quieter stretch of beach, with two ocean pools and entertainment built into the building.
The EDITION's advantage is energy and space. Ian Schrager's hand shows in the bright, pared-back interiors and the way the hotel turns its basement into a destination: a nightclub, a bowling alley and a small ice rink, all under one roof. Above ground are two ocean-facing pools, a wide beach and the Matador Room restaurant. At around 294 rooms it has the range and the facilities of a full resort, and Mid-Beach gives it a calmer, more private setting than South Beach's bustle, with the action available on site when you want it. It is the easier stay for families and for groups who want a scene without leaving the property.
Honest trade-off: Mid-Beach is less walkable to South Beach's restaurants and nightlife, so you will cab or drive for those, and the larger scale and on-site nightlife make it less intimate and, at times, busier than the Setai. Who this isn't for: couples after a hushed, service-first hideaway in the centre of the action are better matched to the Setai.
Weighted: Service 25%, Rooms 20%, Romance / Value / Food 15% each, Location 10%. Scores are HotelsForKings editorial judgments of the hotel's luxury offer, not guest review averages.
Rates on both swing hard with the season, the events calendar and the spring-break weeks. We track when South Beach and Mid-Beach quiet down, which Setai pool-view room is worth the upgrade, and when the EDITION runs its best value. The honest version, one email at a time.
Book The Setai when you want calm and service at the centre of South Beach: a restrained Art Deco hotel with three graded pools, a decade of Forbes Five-Star awards, and the district's restaurants a short walk away. It is the choice for couples and for anyone who rates serenity and polish over buzz.
Book The Miami Beach EDITION when you want design, space and built-in fun: a larger Mid-Beach resort with two ocean pools and a basement that holds a nightclub, bowling alley and ice rink. It is the easier stay with family or a group. The Setai wins on calm and central location; the EDITION wins on energy, space and value.
They aim at different travellers. The Setai Miami Beach is a serene, refined South Beach hotel built around an Art Deco landmark, with three temperature-graded pools and a decade of Forbes Five-Star awards; it is the calmer and more polished of the two. The Miami Beach EDITION is Ian Schrager's larger, more playful Mid-Beach resort, with two ocean pools and a basement nightclub, bowling alley and ice rink. Choose the Setai for quiet, service-led luxury; choose the EDITION for design, energy and built-in fun.
Both sit on Collins Avenue but in different neighbourhoods. The Setai is at 2001 Collins in South Beach, in the thick of the Art Deco district and an easy walk from Ocean Drive, Lincoln Road and South Beach's restaurants and nightlife. The Miami Beach EDITION is about nine blocks north at 2901 Collins in quieter Mid-Beach, on a 3.5-acre oceanfront enclave. The Setai is the more central and walkable; the EDITION trades that for a calmer stretch of beach with its own scene on site.
It comes down to mood. The Setai's signature is its three pools set to different temperatures, lined up toward the ocean in a calm, grown-up courtyard. The Miami Beach EDITION has two ocean-facing pools and a livelier, more social daytime scene to match its design-hotel energy. Both are directly on the sand with beach service. For a serene swim choose the Setai; for a buzzier pool day choose the EDITION.
The Miami Beach EDITION is the easier family stay. It is larger, more relaxed, and has built-in entertainment that children and teenagers love, including the bowling alley and ice rink in its basement, plus two pools and a wide beach. The Setai is more of an adults' hotel, hushed and refined, where younger children can feel out of place. Families wanting fun and space should lean EDITION; couples wanting calm should lean Setai.
Both are top-tier Miami Beach hotels, but the Setai generally sits higher, in line with its Forbes Five-Star service, its smaller scale and its highly polished suites. The Miami Beach EDITION is still expensive but often the better value of the two, particularly for the space, the amenities and the larger room count. Rates on both swing hard with the season and with events, so the gap narrows or widens depending on when you go.
The EDITION is much larger. The Setai Miami Beach has 90 rooms and 50 suites, around 140 keys, split between a restored Art Deco building and a slender oceanfront tower, which keeps it feeling intimate. The Miami Beach EDITION has roughly 294 rooms and suites across its Mid-Beach enclave, so it has the wider range of rooms, restaurants and facilities that come with a resort of that size. The Setai feels boutique; the EDITION feels like a full resort.
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