Luxury Hotels Atlas / The Maison / Faena
Faena hotels
Art, theatre and dining spill beyond the hotel into whole neighbourhoods built around cultural life.
Faena brings art, theater, dining, and hotel life into a single creative neighborhood. Founded by Alan Faena and Len Blavatnik in 2000, its districts extend beyond the guest rooms into residences, cultural spaces, and public places, making the surrounding corner of the city part of the experience.
5 Faena hotels in 3 countries on the Luxury Hotels Atlas (1 not open yet), each placed on the six LHA Tiers.
- Founded by Alan Faena and Len Blavatnik
- Worldwide: 4 open hotels across three countries (Argentina, United States, and — imminently — Saudi Arabia), with an active pipeline that will double the portfolio before 2028 across New York, the Red Sea, Wadi Safar/Riyadh, Tulum, São Paulo, and Dubai
- On the atlas: 1 Grand Luxury, 2 High Luxury, 1 Core Luxury, 1 Accessible Luxury
History
Alan Faena brought experience from fashion into his first hospitality project, developing an atmosphere that reached beyond a single hotel. Philippe Starck helped shape the Buenos Aires building, while Len Blavatnik supported the larger district. Art, residences, restaurants, and cultural spaces later gave the Miami Beach project its own expression of the idea.
Timeline
- 1963 — Alan Faena born in Buenos Aires to a Syrian-Argentine textile family.
- 1985 — Faena founds the fashion label Via Vai at age 19 with 50 colored shirts; it grows to 50 stores and ~$30 million in annual sales.
- 1995–97 — Sells Via Vai; moves to Punta del Este, Uruguay, to cultivate a rose garden at an abandoned estate he names Tierra Santa (Sacred Ground), the spiritual origin of the brand's ethos and the name later given to its spa concept.
- 1998–99 — Returns to Buenos Aires; sets his sights on the derelict grain warehouses of Puerto Madero and courts Philippe Starck via handwritten postcards, eventually enlisting him to design what will become Faena Hotel.
- 2000 — Faena Group formally founded by Alan Faena and Len Blavatnik; investors include Chris Burch, Austin Hearst, and Robert Burch.
- 2001 — The Faena Art Center opens in a converted flour mill (Los Molinos) at the heart of the Buenos Aires district, the first cultural anchor of the Faena concept.
- 2004 — Faena Hotel Buenos Aires opens on Dock 2, Puerto Madero, 98 rooms carved from the restored El Porteño grain silo and warehouse complex, interiors by Philippe Starck, with Francis Mallmann's fire-cooking restaurant El Mercado as its culinary centerpiece; all 84 residential units sell before construction is finished.
- 2012–13 — Faena Aleph Residences designed by Foster + Partners complete in Buenos Aires, the firm's first project in Latin America.
- 2014 — Access Industries acquires the former Saxony Hotel parcel on Collins Avenue, Miami Beach; Len Blavatnik invites Alan Faena to replicate the Buenos Aires district model in Miami.
- 2015 — The $1.25 billion Faena District Miami Beach is unveiled: the 169-room Faena Hotel Miami Beach opens in November/December 2015, with interiors conceived by Alan Faena with narrative direction by filmmaker Baz Luhrmann and four-time Academy Award-winning designer Catherine Martin; Damien Hirst's 24-karat gold mammoth skeleton Gone But Not Forgotten installed in Mammoth Garden; Faena House residential tower (Foster + Partners) opens the same year.
- 2015–16 — Faena Hotel Miami Beach earns its first Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star rating, a distinction it will hold continuously through 2026.
- 2016–17 — Faena Forum (designed by Rem Koolhaas / OMA), Faena Bazaar, and Faena Park all open in the Miami Beach district, completing the district's public cultural campus; Casa Claridge's, a 50-room boutique guesthouse in the district's 1928 Mediterranean Revival building, opens as an ancillary offering.
- c. 2017–19 — Casa Claridge's is rebranded as Casa Faena, bringing the 1928 building (originally El Paraiso Apartments, designed by Martin L. Hampton, also the architect of Miami Beach City Hall) fully under the Faena flag
- 2019 — Francis Mallmann is named by Esquire as "the most interesting chef in the world"; his open-fire cooking style, debuted at Faena Buenos Aires and expanded at Faena Miami Beach's Los Fuegos, appears in the debut episode of Netflix's Chef's Table.
- 2021 — Faena Group and Accor announce a global strategic partnership to expand the Faena brand to new Faena Districts worldwide; Dubai named as the first international target destination.
- 2024 — Faena Hotel Buenos Aires marks its 20th anniversary; the brand announces its Faena Rose membership club and a pipeline spanning New York, Tulum, São Paulo, the Red Sea, Wadi Safar/Riyadh, and Dubai.
- 2025 — Faena New York opens in September at 500 West 18th Street, the first hotel at One High Line, 120 rooms designed by Bjarke Ingels Group, interiors by Peter Mikic, La Boca restaurant by Francis Mallmann, lobby mural The Sefirotic Journey by Diego Gravinese.
- 2025 — Faena Hotel Miami Beach earns Two MICHELIN Keys from the MICHELIN Guide and retains its Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star for the sixth consecutive year.
- 2026 — Faena The Red Sea scheduled to open on Shura Island, interiors by Jouin Manku, architecture by Foster + Partners.
The houses to know
- Faena Hotel Miami Beach, Miami Beach, United States — The Miami Beach hotel combines a cultural programme with Two Michelin Keys, Forbes Five-Star, and AAA Five Diamond recognition.
- Faena New York, New York City, United States — The first Faena–Accor collaboration opened in September 2025, with 120 rooms in a BIG-designed tower above the High Line.
- Faena Hotel Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina — Philippe Starck transformed a Puerto Madero grain silo into the original Faena, with dining by Francis Mallmann.
- Casa Faena, Miami Beach, United States — The small counterpart to Faena Hotel Miami Beach occupies a 1928 Mediterranean Revival building.
Opening next
- Faena Wadi Safar — Wadi Safar, Diriyah, Saudi Arabia — expected TBD (announced October 2025) — confirmed. A 130-room experiential hotel adjacent to a Greg Norman-designed championship golf course and the Royal Equestrian & Polo Club. The resort will include the region's first Faena Theater and a Faena Forum cultural venue, 20 ultra-luxury branded villas (Faena Residences Wadi Safar), and a full spa. Part of the broader Diriyah development near Riyadh. Developed in partnership with Diriyah Company under the Faena–Accor global venture.
- Faena Tulum — Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico — expected TBD — announced, pre-sales active. A full Faena District conceived around 147 residences (one-to-three bedrooms) plus a hotel, Tierra Santa Healing House, Ocean Club with direct beach access, Faena Art Pavilion, theater/event venue, and signature restaurants. Architecture by Brandon Haw; interiors by Peter Mikic; featured artist Pilar Zeta; wellness direction by Inge Theron. Residences priced from $909,965. Location in Region 101 near Avenida Coba, set between jungle and Caribbean Sea.
- Faena São Paulo — São Paulo, Brazil — expected TBD — announced, sales center launched June 2025. A mixed-use Faena District comprising hotel, Faena branded residences (140 units ranging from 286 to 1,024 sq m), stand-alone arts center, and sports courts. Architecture by Brandon Haw. Adjacent to Latin America's main financial hub. Will include all three brand pillars: hotel, residences, and Faena Rose membership club.
- Faena Dubai — Dubai, UAE — expected TBD — announced. Named as the first target destination for the 2021 Faena–Accor global partnership; confirmed to include hotel, residences, and Faena Rose membership club. No construction start or opening timeline publicly confirmed as of mid-2026.
Every Faena hotel on the atlas
United States
- Faena Hotel Miami Beach — Miami Beach · Grand Luxury
- Faena New York — New York City · High Luxury
- Casa Faena — Miami Beach · Accessible Luxury
Argentina
- Faena Hotel Buenos Aires — Buenos Aires · High Luxury
Saudi Arabia
- Faena The Red Sea — Shura Island · Core Luxury · Opening soon
Open The Maison in the atlas for Faena's full dossier, with prices and maps.