In 1947, architect Robert Swartburg completed the Delano hotel in Miami. Named for President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the Art Deco landmark helped fuel South Beach’s post-World War II ascent. But it wasn’t until 1995, when hotelier Ian Schrager and French architect and designer Philippe Starck reinvented it as an urban resort, that the property became synonymous with the burgeoning concept of lifestyle hospitality.
A wine tunnel links Tutto Passa restaurant to Rose Bar at Delano Dubai
The Delano closed for a significant revamp in 2020, and now, as part of Ennismore’s portfolio at Accor, it’s ready to reveal its next dynamic chapter this spring. (Ennismore formed a strategic partnership with Cain International in 2024, and Cain acquired a stake in the Delano brand that is priming it for global growth.)
With thriving Delano outposts in Paris and Dubai, Delano’s story is much larger than the rebirth of Delano Miami Beach alone, but it undoubtedly begins at that magnetic hotel.
A-Lister Paradise
Both Rosewood and Bulgari are slated to plant flags on Miami Beach’s Collins Avenue, but in the late 1980s and early ‘90s, the notion of 5-Star luxury was unfathomable for the area. Back then, South Beach was riddled with crime, and Schrager and Starck’s desire to transform the Delano into a chic, must-see destination was “super bold and disruptive,” says Mark Eacott, Ennismore’s global head of design. “It’s amazing how one iconic property can move a city.”
Guests were immediately struck by Starck’s whimsical take on “Alice in Wonderland,” and it heightened the appeal of all-day hangouts by the centerpiece pool and late, hedonistic nights at the exclusive Rose Bar. Before long, the hotel was thronged with movie stars and musicians, but these VIPs weren’t the only ones who felt special at the Delano. Any visitor who slipped through the entrance, hidden away from the street behind tall hedges, “felt privileged to be inside,” says Eacott. “Schrager and Starck were breaking rules they didn’t know existed. The atmosphere was so electric.”
A fresh departure from other Miami Beach hotels, it elicited an intoxicating mood that Ennismore is committed to upholding across all Delano properties. The priority is “not on the aesthetic,” he adds, “but how it makes you feel.”
Contemporary Update
The residential-style front desk at Maison Delano in Paris
While the Delano Miami Beach was under renovation, Ennismore unveiled the brand in Paris. In 2023, the 56-room Maison Delano opened in an 18th-century mansion off Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, where Barcelona- and Madrid-based Lázaro Rosa Violán layered interiors with marble fireplaces, dark wood furniture, and green velvet.
A year later, the 251-key Delano Dubai made its debut in the mixed-use Bluewaters Dubai development featuring a design from Athens, Greece firm Elastic Architects, alongside La Bottega and local practices SA Consultants and Y Design. Here, sunny public spaces give way to guestrooms adorned with white oak flooring and expansive fluted headboards. Stretching across the seventh floor, the five-bedroom penthouse, courtesy of local studio La Bottega, stars a custom-carved Calacatta Borghini marble bathtub.
One of the five bedrooms in the Delano Dubai’s more than 9,000-square-foot penthouse
Both properties preserve the Delano Miami Beach’s legacy, but by capturing the spirit of their respective locations, are decidedly fresh and refined, updated for the next generation of travelers. “There are design parameters, but we want designers to interpret their version of Delano, too,” says Ben Pundole, chief brand officer of Delano Hotels.
For the reboot of the 171-room Miami flagship, Ennismore’s in-house design team collaborated with Elastic Architects once again and worked closely with the Miami Design Preservation League to ensure it stayed truer to Swartburg’s vision than Schrager’s incarnation.
In the lobby, for instance, the slender hexagonal columns were restored, and the mezzanine bridge once again amplifies views of the pool and gardens. Vertical paint bands and geometric-patterned terrazzo flooring have also made an elegant comeback.
A rendering of the greenery-adorned entry terrace at Delano Miami Beach
A few Starck signatures have been reimagined as well. His playful metal “an apple a day” holders are replaced by vessels that take the form of the fruit, and the formerly all-white guestrooms, although still minimalist, now exude warmth, complemented by soft, cocooning furnishings. In the past, the shallow pool ledge encouraged gathering on submerged furniture, a highlight that endures in Delano’s new era. “You could walk across the pool with a drink, and it wouldn’t spill. There was this idea that you could sit and socialize. It’s nice to know how these stories root back and that we’re pulling them forward today,” explains Eacott.
Delano’s brazen design DNA is still intact, but by introducing pockets of color and tactile materials, it has gracefully evolved. “We spend a lot of time editing and perfecting. It isn’t about bells and whistles; it’s about having the confidence to strip it back,” says Eacott. “There’s a lot of delicacy coming through with patterns, but it still has to have that surreal, magical element.”
Building Community
A rendering of Mimi Kakushi, which launches its first U.S. location on Delano Miami Beach’s private membership club floor
Pundole worked with Schrager for more than 20 years, most recently at EDITION Hotels, and in true full-circle fashion, helped bring Lenny Kravitz’s subterranean lounge, the Florida Room, to life inside the Delano in 2007.
“We thought long and hard about what Delano means to not just Miami but the industry. It was anchored by groundbreaking design, nightlife, and celebrity moments,” he says.
Buzz is still key to the Delano’s ethos. A revived Rose Bar, now a Delano sub-brand, is still going strong and, thanks to a partnership with Paris Society, is joined by the stateside arrivals of high-end Italian restaurant Gigi Rigolatto, courtesy of Paris designer Hugo Toro, and Dubai hotspot Mimi Kakushi, which London studio Pirajean Lees imagined as an ode to bygone Osaka in the fourth-floor Delano Members Club, another new venture for the hotel.
Gigi Rigolatto expands its global presence with an outpost at Delano Miami Beach, shown in a rendering
But an undeniable cultural shift has propelled the new Delano Miami Beach in a different direction. “The wellness movement is not going anywhere as people choose to live differently,” Pundole points out, and the hotel has responded with the Source by Delano, a sanctuary distinguished by a large social sauna ripe for sound healing and scent meditation. Focusing on both restorative and rejuvenating therapies, the Source also invites carefree fun, a place that brings guests together through rollerblading clubs and beach-boxing sessions.
Art is another pillar of Delano Miami. The extensive collection of paintings, photographs, and sculptures on display were created by a range of talents. “Some are unrepresented, some are mid-career, some are well-known, but they all have a connection to Miami,” says Pundole. As other Delano properties roll out, artworks that ground the hotel in its setting will be a mainstay “because this is what gives a hotel their soul. For me, it’s a given we have great design and food and beverage, but our membership program as well as our art and wellness are being pushed to the forefront of the Delano philosophy.”
A Look Ahead
The red brick and stucco exterior of the forthcoming Delano London
As a brand, Delano is just getting started. Late this year, the 67-room Delano London, designed by local practice Archer Humphryes Architects, will take over the Baglioni Hotel in South Kensington, and with its fireplace and rippled walls mimicking curtains, another Delano hallmark still in play, “it feels different from Miami. It’s cozy,” points out Eacott.
Also on the boards is the 390-key Delano SoHo New York, local firm Stonehill Taylor’s overhaul of the Dominick, as well as properties in Puglia, Italy; Marrakesh; and Istanbul, flaunting the handiwork of Lecce, Italy-based Valari Studio, Elastic Architects, and local studio Arketipo Design, respectively.
A rendering of the Delano London’s lobby, anchored by a fireplace and cozy seating
This year, in partnership with PMG, Ennismore also ventured into the residential sphere with a 90-story, 421-unit development in downtown Miami. Montevideo, Uruguay-based architect Carlos Ott; CUBE 3 from North Andover, Massachusetts; and New York design firm Meyer Davis enlivened the supertall building with a resort-style pool and cantilevered glass deck on the observation floor.
Newcomers at Delano Miami Beach—like Milanese-style coffee shop Café Delano, another Delano sub-brand, and the Nothing Finer shop, which takes its name from a quirky vintage sign that once embellished the hotel—infuse the property with a sense of new possibility. But the poolside bungalows, the coveted cabanas, and billowing fabrics are all reminders of an audacious moment in hospitality history. “Everyone of a certain age,” says Eacott, “has a memory of what it felt like walking into that lobby.”
This article originally appeared in HD’s April 2026 issue.