Virgin Hotels Miami

Virgin Hotels is bringing its first Florida property to Brickell, a 40-story tower at 1040 South Miami Avenue pairing 250 hotel rooms with 150 residential condos, developed by Blue Jay Capital. The project has targeted a 2026 opening since its 2019 announcement, with the Commons Club restaurant, a rooftop pool and a two-mile proximity to Virgin Voyages' Terminal V among its selling points, but no firm opening month has been confirmed.

The place

The hotel is planned for 1040 South Miami Avenue, in Miami's Brickell neighborhood — the city's Financial District, dense with bank towers, condo skyscrapers and a growing restaurant scene along the Miami River and Brickell Avenue corridor. It sits roughly two miles from PortMiami's Terminal V, the dedicated cruise terminal Virgin Voyages opened for its own ships, giving the project a built-in connection to its sister brand's passengers before and after sailings.

The concept

Virgin Hotels Miami is the brand's first Florida property and part of a wider push by Virgin Hotels — the hospitality arm Richard Branson's Virgin Group spun up in the 2010s, distinct from but marketed alongside Virgin Voyages — to plant flags in markets tied to Virgin's cruise and travel businesses. The 40-story new-build tower, developed by Blue Jay Capital, splits its floors between 250 hotel rooms ('chambers,' in Virgin's house terminology) and 150 privately owned residential units sold as Virgin Brickell Residences, a structure similar to how Virgin Hotels has paired hospitality and real estate in other markets. The building is designed to seek green-building certification, consistent with Virgin's stated ambition of operating some of the lowest-carbon hotels in its portfolio. The project has moved slowly since it was first announced in 2019: construction was pushed back multiple times before a 2024 start date and a 2026 opening target, both confirmed by Blue Jay Capital and repeated in trade press through late 2025. Positioned in Brickell rather than the beach, the hotel is aimed at business travelers and a design-conscious younger leisure guest, betting that Virgin's playful, informal service culture — the brand's calling card in Chicago, Nashville and Dallas — will read differently in a neighborhood built around finance and international banking than it does in Virgin's more entertainment-oriented US locations.

Dining & wellness

Plans described by the developer include Virgin Hotels' signature Commons Club restaurant and lounge, a beer garden with live music, the Funny Library Coffee Shop co-working space, a spa, and a three-story terraced rooftop with a pool and lounge area conceived as an indoor-outdoor conservatory. Chefs, menus and a firm opening sequence for these venues have not been announced.