Keep the columns: what Delano Miami Beach’s comeback says about restoring a famous building

Delano Miami Beach reopened on March 9 after closing in 2020, and the most important design decision was what its new operator did not change. Heritage is a line item that pays.

The hotel opened on Collins Avenue in 1947 behind an Art Deco facade, and became a design landmark in 1995 when Ian Schrager and Philippe Starck turned it into the white-curtained template for the modern lifestyle hotel. Ennismore, Accor’s lifestyle company, now runs the brand.

What they kept

For the reopening, Elastic Architects and Ennismore’s in-house design team restored the original vertical paint bands and terrazzo floors, brought back the Delano logo and restored the lobby’s hexagonal columns.

Around those pieces is a new hotel: 171 rooms, including poolside bungalow suites and penthouses, oversized windows and terraces, a second pool on the fourth floor, a new beachfront amenity deck, a spa and wellness studio, four restaurants and bars including a recreation of the Rose Bar, and a members club.

Why the old pieces are worth money

The Delano name is worth more than a new brand in South Beach because guests already know what the building looks like. Every element that makes the lobby recognizable in a photo is marketing the hotel does not have to buy. Tear out the columns to save on restoration, and you are left with another beach hotel competing on price.

Miami Beach can support that kind of premium. Through August, Miami Beach hotels averaged a $340.39 room rate and RevPAR of $243.10, up 10.1% from a year earlier, according to STR data published by the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau. See our Florida Hotel Market 2026 page.

The lesson for older hotels

Owners of older hotels in Texas, Florida and everywhere else can apply the same lesson at a smaller scale. A 1920s downtown lobby, an original sign, a terrazzo floor or a tile mural is often cheaper to restore than to replace with something generic, and these are the things guests photograph and post.

There is also a tax angle worth asking your advisors about. Restoring a building listed on the National Register of Historic Places can qualify for federal historic tax credits when the work meets preservation standards. Original material you throw away cannot be put back to qualify.

The takeaway: before a PIP or renovation scope goes out to bid, walk the building with someone who can tell you which old pieces are worth money. The Delano is betting that a 1947 floor is still its best asset.

Sources

• Hospitality Design, The Countdown to Delano Miami Beach’s Reopening Is On (Feb. 3, 2026)
• Resident, Delano Miami Beach Returns
• Voyages d’Affaires, Delano: something new in Miami, New York and London
• Connecting Travel, Ennismore signs Delano hotels in London and New York
• The Hotelier Times, Florida Hotel Market 2026 (STR via Greater Miami CVB)