Top Party Hotels in South Beach

ArKadia at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach

To help you craft the perfect Miami Beach getaway, we have compiled an overview of the top party hotels in South Beach. Consider this a power ranking of the most desirable places to go to experience the South Beach party scene. Making the cut is not so much a factor of a hotel's fine linens and designer bath products as it is the ability to deliver the buzz you feel at the hippest clubs, trendiest restaurants and friendliest bars.

Our top party hotels capture the essence of the South Beach experience by combining unique surroundings, attractive company, attentive service and effortless fun - all under one roof. Whether you want to strut in stilettos or be bare-as-you-dare, the vacation of your dreams is just a few clicks away. Find yourself poolside sipping a perfectly chilled cocktail and know that all those months of hard work and planning lead to an intersection of sun, skin and sweet surrender...

Bigger, brighter and bouncier than ever, the Fontainebleau Resort & Spa enjoys a totally South Beach buzz. This landmark property was designed by architect Morris Lapidus to make guests feel like celebrities cavorting on a grand stage. A billion dollar expansion - launched with an international telecast of Victoria's Secret super models - brought the formidable property up to 1,500 newly appointed guest rooms and suites spanning 22 acres of golden oceanfront. Patterned after the top resorts in Las Vegas, the hotel has 11 restaurants and the top-rated LIV nightclub, 3 big name celebrity chefs and a 40,000 square foot spa. The six pools and beach club include a sexy French Riviera-style grill called Le Côte where the dress code is tan skin, long legs and very little inhibition. Guests party in luxurious cabanas appointed with 32 inch flat panel TVs, butler service, and security safes, all surrounded by privacy curtains that are usually left open to see and be seen.

Few hotels on South Beach were designed from the ground up to deliver wall-to-wall luxury quite like the brand new W Hotel in Collins Park. With a prime beach front location, a totally modern aesthetic, balconies engineered to maximize sea views and an impressive roster of dining and nightlife options, the W Hotel has Game. Rooms are engineered with plenty of party space. Hotel staff are determined to provide Whatever you desire Whenever you choose. With big name gourmet dining, a celebrity-centric nightclub called Wall at the W South Beach Hotel, and 3-story poolside bungalows straight out of HBO's hit series "Entourage," it's no wonder the next generation of South Beach scenesters find themselves drawn to the W Hotel.

Providing a picturesque backdrop for Bravo TV's reality series "Miami Social," the rooftop nightspot Plunge Bar put the newly remodeled Perry South Beach Hotel on the pop culture map. The series may have fizzled but the hotel remains one of South Beach's most popular destinations. Directly on the ocean, the hotel boasts 340 spacious guest rooms and 86 suites averaging more than 700 square feet of fine linens, spa showers and every modern convenience. The Perry South Beach features a 110 foot rooftop swimming pool with views from 18 stories high, a second infinity edge pool deck a whole lot closer to the sea and a totally "Nikki-Style" Beach Club with sexy teepees, oversized sun beds, fire pits, and drink service. Louis Nightclub takes pride of place in the hotel lobby and STK Steakhouse deftly combines fine dining with a South Beach club vibe both at the table and at CoCo de Ville Bar right next door.

One essential thing to keep in mind about the Delano Hotel before you arrive: The guy sipping cocktails at the Rose Bar who looks JUST like George Clooney - is George Clooney. So chill out, act like its no big deal and move on. The Delano is a jaw-dropping and name-dropping paradise. Located in the heart of the South Beach Scene - perhaps at the very epicenter - this world class hipster hotel has one of the most dazzling lobby lounge spaces in the city. Surprisingly understated from the street, the curtained porte cochére opens onto a dazzling series of environments leading out to the Bianca Restaurant terrace and the sexiest pool in town. As you travel through each unique space towards the sea, the hideaways crafted by French Design Guru Philippe Starck contain unique objects from Antonio Gaudi, Charles and Ray Eames, Man Ray, Salvador Dali and Mark Newson. America's renowned restaurateur Jeffrey Chodorow partnered with star Chef Claude Troisgros on the Blue Door Menu and Rock Icon Lenny Kravitz collaborated on the cool speakeasy that is The FDR Lounge downstairs. With so much sheer firepower behind every aspect of your stay, it's no wonder the Delano is still so HOT.

When top couture designer Karl Lagerfeld saw the grandeur that is the sinuous coping surrounding one of the world's truly legendary swimming pools on the palm-lined patio behind the Raleigh Hotel, he decided at once that this must be the setting for his Chanel Resort Collection. The pool deck, the terrace bar and the tropical oasis that awaits you each morning has no rival in all of South Beach. Originally built for movie goddess Esther Williams, the entire outdoor scene tucked between the building and the sea makes it hard to tear yourself away from the comfort of your lounge chair. The sandy Oasis originally known as the "Aqua Cabana Club" on the sands of the Atlantic Ocean, provides the perfect getaway by day and a romantic hideout by night for the sophisticated traveler seeking the kind of chic, unfussy glamour that's all a part of the Raleigh's charm. From a dry martini in the swank Lobby Bar to a sudden death round of ping pong on a Sunday afternoon, a visit to this retro property provides a very seductive, grown up escape.

People describe the atmosphere at the elevated pool deck at the Hotel Victor, now known as the Thompson Ocean Hotel, as something out of an MTV video; hot girls, six-pack abs, fly looks, good music... a Sexy South Beach Scene. When top French designer Jacques Garcia took on the meticulous restoration of this landmark Art Deco property, it's tough to imagine he knew how captivating the final product would become. Steps away from the often topless sands of South Beach, right next door to the opulent Versace Palazzo, the Victor lives up to all the rules about "location, location, location" and then some! A small, boutique property of just 88 rooms, the hotel boasts a 6,000 square foot co-ed Turkish steam bath and spa where the pampering is just part of the total package. With private treatment areas, a couple's lounge, and plenty of room to relax and socialize, it's no wonder the Hotel Victor was designated one of the "World's Sexiest Resorts" by Concierge.com. One glimpse at the jellyfish-filled aquarium that is the centerpiece of the hotel lobby and you know you're in for an extraordinary stay.

South Beach locals have access to all of the best stuff that you only get to enjoy during your vacation. They can pop into Prime 112 and sit right next to Dwayne Wade or score a prime table at Joe's Stone Crab without much of a wait. Locals know the best bars, the hottest clubs, the bouncer's first name and they move - for the most part - through the glitz and glam of South Beach with an enviable ease. That's why it's important to note that of all the party hotels on South Beach, all the hot spots and off-the-radar clubs that pop up at a moment's notice, locals actually PAY to hang out at The Standard Hotel. Restricted to guests over 14, the hotel promotes health and wellness at its low key DIY spa but courts a fun crowd around the huge 24 hour pool, at the waterfall hot tub, at the sexy co-ed sauna and at weekly drunken bingo matches where a raucous crowd vies for bar tabs and hotel stays with a fervor that would frighten Grandma. Hip, barefoot, toned and tan, the atmosphere at the Standard Spa is a welcome antidote to the glitzy South Beach stiletto scene.

The most important new hotel on the west side of South Beach has a very particular caché that's a factor of its unique beauty, its well-heeled clientele and its low-key luxury vibe. Distinctive surroundings, impeccable service and an "Alice Through the Looking Glass" design by Marcel Wanders make a getaway at the Mondrian a unique South Beach escape. With no beach, the hotel's focal point is its bow-shaped infinity pool facing Biscayne Bay and the glittering Downtown Miami skyline. Large arch-shaped cabanas are available for an impromptu pool party that heats up Sundays when locals join in the fun arriving at the water's edge on yachts that make it hard to believe we're in the midst of an economic crisis. The crowd moves toward the lobby's Sunset Lounge at twilight bringing out a mix of happy hour habitués and the impossibly lovely South Beach hipsters who create a stir in the sultry night air and then, just as quickly, disappear. To get a sense of the wild wild west side of the South Beach scene, spend a weekend at the Mondrian.

Picture the deck of a post-modern cruise ship where you and your friends can hang out and tan, swim and enjoy a pampering massage under the warming rays of the Florida sun. That's exactly the atmosphere created by the designers of the Z Ocean Hotel glass bottom pool situated just above the fray on busy Ocean Drive. One of South Beach's premier adult party spots, balcony rooms overlooking the pool provide a bird's eye view to the cabana suites and the tanning terrace. Targeting couples seeking a romantic getaway in a prime South Beach location, the Z Ocean Hotel is just steps away from the fine dining and nightclub district and yet it sits at a quiet remove from the maddening crowd. Entering through a breezy passageway under the skylight window to the bottom of the hotel pool, the watery light creates a dreamy atmosphere that carries through the public spaces. Guest suites at the rooftop level include access to private jacuzzi party terraces complete with wet bars, stereo sound systems and a perfect platform to shake it like a rock star high above the neon lights of the Art Deco District.

Anyone who has ever enjoyed a few too many Rum Runners during a Spring Break on South Beach has a story that features the Clevelander Hotel. From the moment the Art Deco District started welcoming visitors to it's Miami Vice-colored shoreline, "The Cleve" has served as the de facto party spot for an international array of sun worshippers from all walks of life who are drawn to the pool bar by the music, the drink specials and the anything goes atmosphere. With bar service opening directly onto Ocean Drive and the busy greenspace that is Lummus Park, the Clevelander sits at the end of the rainbow for sandy beach goers, sweaty in-line skaters, thirsty Swedish bikini models and sunburned Midwesterners busily snapping cell phone photos to inspire the envy of their snowbound relatives back home. With no cover, no minimum, no shoes nor shirt required, this popular patio remains one of the "Must See" spots for any South Beach holiday. Following a recent multi-million dollar renovation, the much-improved public spaces now have equally promising private guestrooms where it is possible for folks who no longer carry student ID cards to enjoy a few nights of partying like it's 1999.

Have a great Party vacation!