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Where to Stay in Miami (2026): The Best Areas, 12 Hotels and the 13% to 14% Room Tax

By Casey, Gently Yonder editor

South Beach, Mid-Beach, Brickell, Wynwood and the Gables: 12 hotels, the 14% Miami Beach and 13% mainland room tax, resort fees and the MIA and FLL links.

Last updated · 15 min read

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In this guide12 sections
  1. The short answer
  2. Miami’s hotel tax
  3. Getting in from the airports, and around
  4. South Beach: the first-trip base
  5. Mid-Beach: big rooms and a quieter beach
  6. Brickell and Downtown: trains, towers and the Metromover
  7. Wynwood: murals and bars
  8. Coconut Grove and Coral Gables: gardens and a historic pool
  9. How to book Miami
  10. All 12 at a glance
  11. Before you go
  12. Frequently asked questions

Miami hotels charge two things on top of the room rate: tax of 13% on the mainland and 14% on Miami Beach, and, at eight of the 12 hotels here, a daily resort or destination fee that the hotels themselves state at $23 to $65 a night. On a $300 room with a $60 fee, that is about $110 a night before you have left the lobby. Where you sleep decides the rest: Miami Beach is on a barrier island across the bay from downtown, and the airport trains, the free trolleys and the bus all serve different parts of it.

This guide covers five areas, from South Beach to Coral Gables, 12 hotels, the airport links and the tax. The hotels are researched picks, chosen for location, what each property publishes and consistent guest feedback, and each was checked as operating in October 2026. No hotel pays to appear here.

The short answer

If you want… Stay in Why
a first trip, on foot South Beach Ocean Drive’s Art Deco hotels, Lummus Park and a free trolley
big rooms and a bit more space Mid-Beach Collins Avenue and Indian Creek Drive, with the Middle Beach trolley loop
trains, towers and the free Metromover Brickell and Downtown Metrorail to the airport, Metromover and Brickell City Centre
murals, galleries and bars Wynwood Wynwood Walls, with no Metrorail station
gardens, a historic pool and quiet streets Coconut Grove and Coral Gables The Biltmore, Miracle Mile and the Venetian Pool

Not sure which area? Rank these areas for your trip: pick what matters and see the reasons.

Pink, blue and white Art Deco hotel facades lit by neon, with signs reading Boulevard Hotel and Starlite Hotel, palm trees and café tables on the pavement at night
Ocean Drive at night. Photo: Osmany Mederos / Pexels

Miami’s hotel tax

Several charges apply to a hotel room, and which ones depends on whether you sleep on Miami Beach or the mainland:

Charge Miami Beach Mainland Miami, Brickell to Coral Gables
Florida sales tax on transient rentals 6% 6%
Miami-Dade discretionary sales surtax 1% 1%
Convention Development Tax 3% 3%
Tourist Development Tax none 2%
Professional Sports Franchise Facilities Tax none 1%
City of Miami Beach resort tax 4% none
Combined, our arithmetic 14% 13%

The state sets the 6% in Florida law, and the Department of Revenue says the county’s surtax also applies to hotel rooms, with no $5,000 cap. Miami-Dade County says the 3% convention tax applies across the county apart from Surfside and Bal Harbour, and that the 2% tourist and 1% sports-facilities taxes do not apply in Miami Beach, which charges its own 4% resort tax instead. Hotels here match the totals on their own sites: Faena and Freehand both say 14%, and EAST Miami quotes 13% tax on its extra-bed fee.

Resort fees are separate, and each hotel sets its own. Four of the 12 state no amount on the pages we read, the National, the Four Seasons, the Langford and Colonnade, and the guide says so below. Worked example, our arithmetic: a $300 room with a $60 daily fee, taxed on both as Faena and Freehand say they do, costs $410.40 a night on Miami Beach and $406.80 on the mainland. That is $110.40 and $106.80 above the room rate.

Getting in from the airports, and around

South Beach: the first-trip base

A pale green beach cruiser bicycle locked to a post in front of a cream and orange building with a sign reading Waldorf, with palm trees and café umbrellas on the street
A South Beach street corner. Photo: Almir reis / Pexels

South Beach is the southern end of Miami Beach, and the part that suits a first trip because you can do most of it on foot: Ocean Drive’s hotels look across Lummus Park to the sand, and the free South Beach trolley reaches Lincoln Road Mall, the Bass Museum and the New World Symphony. The Miami Design Preservation League runs a daily two-hour Art Deco walking tour from the Art Deco Welcome Center at 1001 Ocean Drive, about 1.5 miles on foot, at $50 for adults. Ocean Drive has bars and crowds until late, so ask about a quieter room.

Where to stay in South Beach

How the hotel links work: a hotel’s name goes to its own website. “Check rates” opens it on Booking.com through our partner Stay22, which pays us a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you.

Mid-Beach: big rooms and a quieter beach

A yellow, purple and green lifeguard tower on white sand, with a red quad bike beside it and apartment towers behind
A lifeguard tower on Miami Beach. Photo: Almir reis / Pexels

North of South Beach, Collins Avenue runs past larger hotels, and the city’s Middle Beach trolley loop, which runs from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., links them to the rest of the island. You trade South Beach’s streets, which you ride to instead of walking, for room size: Faena’s rooms are roughly twice the size of the Betsy’s.

Where to stay in Mid-Beach

Brickell and Downtown: trains, towers and the Metromover

A row of tall glass residential towers, one with a white lattice-like frame, rising behind a line of palms across blue water
Towers on Biscayne Bay's shore. Photo: Tory Brown / Pexels

Brickell is the base for towers and trains: Brickell City Centre for shops and restaurants, Metrorail to the airport, and the free Metromover, which runs from Brickell through downtown to the Omni area, past the Kaseya Center. It is a city base, not a beach one, and the sand is a bus or taxi ride away.

Where to stay in Brickell and Downtown

Wynwood: murals and bars

A street corner of painted walls, including a woman's face among flowers and a cartoon figure in a top hat holding a money bag, with a palm tree and a white car in front
Murals on a Miami street corner. Photo: DΛVΞ GΛRCIΛ / Pexels

Wynwood is the arts district north of downtown. Wynwood Walls, at 2516 NW 2nd Avenue, charges $12 for adults and $5 for 13 to 17 year olds, and is open from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. It has no Metrorail station: the nearest are Historic Overtown/Lyric Theatre and Culmer, about 1.5 miles south, with Metrobus Route 2 running up NW 2nd Avenue and the free City of Miami trolley stopping on it.

Where to stay in Wynwood

Coconut Grove and Coral Gables: gardens and a historic pool

A narrow waterway between a grassy bank with tall palms and dense trees, with a footbridge and pale apartment blocks in the distance
A palm-lined waterway in Coral Gables. Photo: DΛVΞ GΛRCIΛ / Pexels

Coconut Grove sits on the bay south of Brickell, with Vizcaya Museum and Gardens nearby; Vizcaya says restoration work is under way on site and has cut adult admission from $32 to $20 for now. Coral Gables, further inland, is the city of Miracle Mile and the Venetian Pool, which the city says is fed by spring water from an underground aquifer, opens Tuesday to Sunday and is closed on Mondays. Neither is on the beach.

Where to stay in Coconut Grove and Coral Gables

How to book Miami

All 12 at a glance

Hotel Area Tier Best for Watch out for
The Betsy South Beach Comfortable Ocean Drive, calmer $62 fee
National Hotel South Beach Comfortable Pool and beachfront Adults-only, fee unpriced
Catalina Hotel & Beach Club South Beach Budget A bed near the sand $30 fee, 21 and over
Faena Hotel Miami Beach Mid-Beach Splurge Space and ocean views $65 fee
Freehand Miami Mid-Beach Budget A lower price, bay side No car park
Four Seasons Hotel Miami Brickell Splurge A rooftop pool in Brickell $65 valet
EAST Miami Brickell Comfortable Brickell’s shops $54 fee, deposit
Eurostars Langford Downtown Good value A 1925 building downtown Rooftop closed
Arlo Wynwood Wynwood Good value Murals at the door No tap-to-pay
Mr. C Miami Coconut Grove Coconut Grove Comfortable The Grove at the door No shuttle, valet only
Biltmore Hotel Coral Gables Splurge A historic resort Beach is a car ride
Hotel Colonnade Coral Gables Comfortable Miracle Mile on foot Fee unpriced

Before you go

Frequently asked questions

What is the best area to stay in Miami for a first trip?

South Beach: Ocean Drive's hotels, Lummus Park and the free South Beach trolley are on foot. Choose Brickell and Downtown for Metrorail and the free Metromover, Wynwood for murals, and Coconut Grove and Coral Gables for gardens and quieter streets.

How much is the hotel tax in Miami?

14% on Miami Beach and 13% on the mainland, by our arithmetic from the official rates: 6% state sales tax, 1% county surtax and 3% Convention Development Tax everywhere, plus the city's 4% resort tax on Miami Beach, or the 2% Tourist Development Tax and 1% sports-facilities tax on the mainland. Hotel fees are extra.

How do you get from Miami International Airport to your hotel?

By Metrorail's Orange Line for $2.25 to Brickell, Government Center or Historic Overtown/Lyric Theatre, or by the Route 150 Miami Beach Airport Express at $2.25 each way. On weekends the Orange Line runs only between MIA and Earlington Heights. A taxi is metered, with a $2.00 airport fee and a $15 minimum.

Do Miami hotels charge resort fees?

Most here do. Eight of the 12 state an amount: from $23 a day at the Biltmore to $65 at Faena, plus tax at most. The National and Colonnade say a fee applies without pricing it, and the Four Seasons and Langford pages state none.

Is there free public transport in Miami?

Yes. Metromover is free, seven days a week, across downtown, Omni and Brickell, though its Financial District station closes for five weeks from 24 October. The Miami Beach South Beach and Middle Beach trolleys run from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., and the City of Miami trolley stops in Wynwood Monday to Saturday.

Can you fly into Fort Lauderdale and stay in Miami?

Yes. Tri-Rail runs free shuttle buses from the FLL terminals to its Dania Beach station, and Brightline's airport shuttle costs $12 a guest plus a $3 fuel surcharge with a same-day train ticket, running twice an hour from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. to its Fort Lauderdale station.

Sources & further reading

Prices, fares and hotel terms change. Every detail here was checked in October 2026; confirm rates, fees, room types and cancellation terms with the hotel before booking. These are researched picks, not reviews. This article contains affiliate links: hotel rates on Booking.com and other booking sites through Stay22, and tours, transfers and eSIMs through our partners; if you book through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. No hotel pays to be included.

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