After a Six-Year Renovation, Delano Miami Beach Bets on Dining and Memberships

Delano Miami Beach reopened in May 2026 after a six-year renovation led by Ennismore, the hospitality venture majority-owned by French giant Accor, with investment firm Cain International holding a minority stake in the Delano brand. The redesign of the 1947 Art Deco landmark preserves its iconic exterior while introducing four restaurant and bar concepts, a private members’ club, and wellness facilities meant to generate revenue streams beyond traditional room sales.

The project reflects how modern luxury hotel operators structure restorations around capital-intensive renovations. Ennismore and Cain are betting that international dining brands, members-only experiences, and curated retail will justify the investment while positioning Delano as the flagship property for a brand now expanding to Istanbul, Puglia, Marrakesh, Costa Rica, and other cities. The partnership, announced in 2024, represents Cain’s strategy of backing lifestyle hospitality after a $900 million previous investment in Aman Group.

How Historic Hotels Justify Massive Renovations

Delano’s 1947 construction and 1995 transformation by hotelier Ian Schrager and designer Philippe Starck established it as a benchmark for refined luxury hospitality, with features like the Rose Bar becoming iconic to Miami Beach’s prestige positioning. After closing in 2020, the property faced a common challenge: restoring a landmark to modern luxury standards requires capital spending that far exceeds what nightly room rates alone can justify.

Ennismore’s track record informed the Miami Beach strategy. A €40 million renovation that converted an existing hotel into the Delano Dubai doubled the average daily room rate and the property’s bottom line, said Davina Zydower-Cisier, Ennismore’s SVP of development for Europe; a bookable five-bedroom penthouse residence at the property achieved return on investment in under 18 months, she added. That success prompted Cain to acquire a minority stake in the Delano brand in 2024, positioning Miami Beach as the flagship location to anchor a global expansion strategy that includes Maison Delano, launched in Paris in April 2023.

Delano by the Numbers
The 171-room Delano Miami Beach reopened after six years of renovation. Ennismore, majority-owned by Accor, now operates the property; Cain International holds a minority stake in the Delano brand as part of a global pipeline including expansions to Istanbul, Puglia, Marrakesh, and Costa Rica.

A Revenue Model Built Beyond Room Sales

The 171-room property now centers its economics on dining, members’ experiences, and wellness services. Gigi Rigolatto, a coastal Italian concept, offers both indoor and poolside seating. Mimi Kakushi, a modern Japanese restaurant by a Dubai hospitality group, opens its first U.S. location at Delano with art deco design and cocktails inspired by silent-film actor Sessue Hayakawa. A third restaurant concept and the restored Rose Bar complete the dining program.

A fourth-floor private members’ club anchors the longer-term revenue strategy. The club offers pool access, spa facilities, and cultural programming—culinary events and gallery visits meant to attract affluent local residents and frequent travelers willing to pay annual membership fees alongside nightly room rates. This approach reflects broader industry practice: luxury hotels increasingly look to on-property dining, retail, and memberships, rather than rooms alone, for revenue.

Design Choices That Preserve While Modernizing

Elastic Interiors preserved key Art Deco elements: the columned entrance, terrazzo flooring, the legendary Rose Bar with its original quartz-topped counter, and the white infinity-edged swimming pool. Guest rooms were redesigned in a “lighter, beach-inspired palette,” a deliberate contrast to Starck’s stark minimalism that dominated the 1990s reputation. Suites now feature deep soaking tubs; the property added signature penthouse suites and poolside bungalows to capture multiple rate categories—a financial strategy that allows operators to extract maximum revenue from different guest segments without requiring new construction.

This design philosophy balances historical preservation with contemporary function. The property’s architecture now signals heritage while inviting a different guest profile: travelers seeking wellness experiences, culinary destinations, and private club access rather than the celebrity-driven nightlife that defined the Schrager era. Ennismore’s global expansion pipeline—including plans for 500 branded residences globally—follows this same model: preserve iconic buildings, modernize interiors for current luxury standards, and layer in experiential and residential revenue streams.

Luxury hotels increasingly look to on-property dining, retail, and memberships, rather than rooms alone, for revenue.

What the Reopening Signals for Miami Beach

Delano’s restoration comes as Miami Beach’s luxury hotel market faces structural pressures. The property’s six-year closure underscores the capital requirements to restore mid-century landmarks to contemporary luxury standards while accounting for seismic shifts in what affluent travelers demand. That Ennismore and Cain International were willing to commit that scale of capital signals confidence in South Beach’s ability to attract international guests and support premium pricing for experiences beyond traditional lodging.

The emphasis on dining and members’ experiences also reflects a broader repositioning of South Beach from nightlife-driven to experience-driven hospitality. Ennismore’s global expansion strategy treats Miami Beach as a flagship demonstrating how the Delano model scales: restore heritage architecture, introduce internationally recognized hospitality and dining concepts, and layer in memberships and wellness services to create revenue resilience. The property’s reopening positions Delano as both a renovated landmark and a blueprint for how historic beachfront hotels can justify massive capital investments in an era of competing digital leisure experiences and consolidation among global hospitality operators.

Photo: Jet Lowe · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons