The 800-room Grand Hyatt Miami Beach reached its full 17-story height on Tuesday, July 28, putting the Convention Center District's largest hotel project on track to open in late 2027 with a climate-controlled skybridge linking guests directly to the Miami Beach Convention Center.
Mayor Steven Meiner, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, City Manager Eric Carpenter and Commissioner Tanya K. Bhatt joined developers and Hyatt executives at the topping-off ceremony at 1701 Convention Center Drive.
"The addition of a hotel of this size and its connection to the convention center has opened the door for literally dozens of major conventions and trade shows that have never convened here to now show an interest and a desire," said David Whitaker, president and CEO of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, at the ceremony. "That in itself is transformative."
Street-level access, guest rooms and amenities
The project is developed by Terra, led by CEO David Martin, and Turnberry, led by Chairman and CEO Jackie Soffer. It was designed by Bernardo Fort-Brescia of Arquitectonica and sits at the corner of 17th Street and Convention Center Drive. General contractor Balfour Beatty is building the reinforced concrete structure.
Beyond the hotel lobby, the development will add pedestrian-friendly promenades, bike-sharing stations and public transit connections along the street level, plus 17,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. The developers say the site will create walkable links to Lincoln Road, the Miami Beach Botanical Garden, the Bass Museum, Miami City Ballet and the Holocaust Memorial.
Inside, 12 floors will hold guest rooms, including 50 suites. Nearly two-thirds of rooms will have balconies with views of the Atlantic Ocean or Biscayne Bay. Four floors will house 110,000 square feet of meeting and ballroom space meant to complement the Convention Center's programming.
Amenities include an 8,000-square-foot rooftop lawn on the fifth-floor deck overlooking the Miami skyline, two resort-style pools, a fitness center with spa, a signature restaurant and a lobby lounge.
Impact on Miami's convention business
Freddie Peterson, general manager of the Miami Beach Convention Center, called the hotel "the missing piece" of the Convention Center campus, which underwent a $640 million renovation before this project began, according to Hotel Online.
Greater Miami and Miami Beach welcomed 28.3 million visitors in 2025, according to Florida YIMBY. At the bureau's November 2025 annual meeting, Whitaker cited increasing convention bookings ahead of the hotel's opening.
Mayor Meiner said the hotel "will be a game changer for our city" and called it a significant economic booster for Miami Beach's long-term growth.
Ground was broken on May 22, 2025. Completion is expected in late 2027.
Other Miami Beach news this week
- Thursday, Aug. 6: Final public input session on the Drexel-Washington density plan
- Through September: $1-per-hour parking across Miami Beach
- On view through summer on Ocean Drive: Free retrospective of Venice Biennale artist Edouard Duval-Carrié
