Hotel Greystone – Hohauser's 1939 corner, reborn adults-only

On Collins Avenue, a few steps from the Setai and a short walk from the sand, Hotel Greystone occupies a corner of South Beach it has held since 1939. Henry Hohauser, the architect behind much of Miami Beach's Art Deco skyline, designed it in the Streamline Moderne style, borrowing rounded corners, eyebrow mouldings, horizontal bands and porthole windows from ocean liners. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 as a contributing property within the Miami Beach Architectural District. The MICHELIN Guide awards it One Key. Inside, the 91-room, adults-only hotel reopened in 2021 after Salt Hotels and designer Holly Muhl of Bowen Holly reworked the interiors, setting a calmer, neutral-toned language of woven textures and built-in wood against the original 1930s shell.

01The house

Hotel Greystone dates from 1939, one of several Collins Avenue hotels built during Henry Hohauser's busiest years as Miami Beach's most prolific Art Deco architect. Its facade still carries the radio spires, marquee Greystone sign and ziggurat roofline that mark its Streamline Moderne pedigree. It stands on the corner of 19th Street, its main entrance marked by a pair of round windows etched with tropical scenes.

The hotel closed for an extensive renovation before Salt Hotels reopened it in 2021, after a four-year, 65-million-dollar project that aimed to honour the building's history while creating a more contemporary, inviting counterpoint to the busy avenue outside. Interior designer Holly Muhl of Bowen Holly led the work, aiming, in her words, to create something "stylish and comfortable" that reflects the different layers of Miami Beach's past.

02Rooms and suites

The 91 rooms and suites are split between two low-rise buildings. The Collins Building holds Standard King rooms overlooking 20th Street, Superior Kings, Double Doubles and Loft Suites with seating areas and walk-in rainfall showers, while the Courtyard Building contains further Standard and Superior Kings arranged around a shared garden.

Insider tip

Adults-only; beach one block away; rooftop pool for guests 7am–6pm.

Eight specialty suites add private terraces and oversized hot tubs, the first of their kind in South Beach when the hotel reopened. The Penthouse Suite's terrace runs to 432 square feet, with a lounge, a jacuzzi and an outdoor shower, while the Loft Suite Terrace has its own 426-square-foot private terrace, and the Double Double Suite carries a terrace of more than 350 square feet, a favourite for groups. Every room is fitted with a custom pillow-top mattress, a summer featherweight duvet and Malin + Goetz Botanicals toiletries.

03Where to eat

Sérêvène, the hotel's signature restaurant, serves contemporary Japanese-French cuisine inspired by French rotisserie traditions and Japanese izakaya, with experiential dishes such as suckling pig carved tableside and seasonal local produce. The kitchen is run by Pawan Pinisetti, a Culinary Institute of America graduate who worked in Las Vegas before landing in Miami Beach and winning Food Network's Chopped along the way.

On the menu, dishes stretch from a delicate Ora King Sashimi to a Lobster Uni-Alfredo and a half suckling pig served with soft Hawaiian rolls.

By day, the courtyard café Kobo keeps a gentler rhythm: service runs daily from 7am, with breakfast until 10am and the kitchen open to 4pm, in a laidback, art-filled courtyard where coffee and pastries are reason enough to linger before the two-minute walk to the beach.

04The bar

Up a short flight from Sérêvène, the Greystone Bar pairs creative and classic cocktails in crystal-cut glassware with candlelight, alongside bar bites such as foie gras pâté and smoked salmon dip. Live jazz plays Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, in a room built for conversation rather than crowds.

On the roof, Sora keeps a different register: a small, meticulously kept space with a Japanese-inspired aesthetic that sets it apart from the rest of South Beach, its character built on that sensibility rather than scale. Sunset is the hour to be there, cocktail in hand, with Collins Avenue laid out below.

05The neighbourhood

The hotel sits behind the Setai, at 19th Street and Collins Avenue, in the thick of Miami Beach's Art Deco Historic District — pastel facades, porthole windows and neon that have drawn architecture visitors for decades. The district fell out of favour by the 1970s; its rediscovery is often traced to Andy Warhol's visit in 1980, which helped make the Art Deco district fashionable again.

The beach itself is one block away. The hotel provides two complimentary lounge chairs per room, set out by the Broucher Brothers on 20th Street, just left of the beach entrance.

06Making the most of a stay

Hotel Greystone is strictly for guests eighteen and older, and runs to its own rhythm: the rooftop pool at Sora is reserved for hotel guests from 7am to 6pm, open for cocktails by day or city lights after dark.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.