Miami now has a spa where the bath smells faintly like a brewery. Hop'n Spa, which bills itself as the city's first beer spa, is open at 159 NE 54th St. in Little Haiti, offering private soaks in handcrafted cedar tubs steeped with hops, brewer's yeast and Epsom salt, with cold local beer on tap while you soak. Sessions start at $180, and the doors are open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day of the week.

No, the tub is not full of beer

The first question everyone asks has a simple answer. The tubs fill with warm water, and the beer ingredients go in as the water rises: hops, brewer's yeast and Epsom salt, with barley also named among the ingredients on the spa's own site. The beer you drink is a separate matter. It comes from the tap, poured cold from local craft breweries, and you can sip it while you soak, while you lounge, or in the private infrared sauna that comes with your suite.

Each booking is private. You and up to three others get a suite to yourselves, with the sauna, a shower and the cedar tubs. The spa suggests a sequence for getting the most out of the hour: 10 to 15 minutes in the sauna first, a quick rinse, then the warm soak, and a cold-water tipping bucket to finish. It is a Nordic bathhouse routine with a brewery twist.

Hop'n Spa pitches the soak as a skin-softening, stress-easing ritual. It says hops have a calming reputation and that brewer's yeast carries naturally occurring B vitamins, and it traces the idea of soaking in beer ingredients to the Czech Republic, where beer spas are still popular. Treat it as what it is: a warm bath, a sauna and a cold drink in a quiet room. The spa itself asks anyone who is pregnant or has allergies to beer ingredients to check with a physician before booking.

A souvenir from Iceland, by way of military life

The spa belongs to Ismarai and Adrian Nazarett, a couple who spent more than a decade in military life before striking out on their own. The idea started in 2018 on a road trip through Iceland with friends, when they stumbled on a brewery that also ran a spa. After days of exploring and sleeping in a camper van, a hot bath steeped in hops and barley was, by their account, exactly the right thing.

They kept looking for the experience after that, in Budapest, Brussels and Tulum, and each stop convinced them it was worth bringing home. When their military years wrapped up, they settled in Florida and built the version they had been carrying around in their heads. The result is small and personal: a couple's project, not a chain, tucked into a suite on NE 54th Street rather than a resort lobby.

What it costs, and how many fit in a tub

Pricing is by the room, not the person, and the menu has fun with the names:

  • Solo Soak: one person, one tub, 60 minutes, $180
  • The Double Tap: two people sharing one tub, 60 minutes, $220
  • The Parallel Pour: two people, two tubs, 60 minutes, $320
  • The Tasting Trio: three people, two tubs, 90 minutes, $360
  • Hop Party: four people, two tubs, 90 minutes, $375

Wine, non-alcoholic drinks and charcuterie boards can be added when you book, so a non-beer drinker in the group is covered. For a bigger celebration, the whole spa can be reserved for a private event by phone or email, and gift cards are sold with no expiration date, which makes this an easy answer for the friend who has everything.

Before you book

  • Age: every guest must be at least 21.
  • Reservations: book online at hopnspa.com. Appointments are strongly recommended rather than walking in.
  • Timing: arrive on time. Showing up more than 10 minutes late can be treated as a no-show, and late sessions still end at the scheduled time.
  • Cancellations: cancel at least 24 hours ahead to be eligible to reschedule or get a refund. Late cancellations and no-shows can forfeit the full amount.
  • Accessibility: an ADA-accessible spa room can be booked by emailing [email protected].
  • Contact: 305-770-8093.

The appeal for locals is obvious once you say it out loud. This is a birthday, an anniversary or a Saturday with old friends that is not another loud bar and not another expensive hotel spa, and the price for four people splits to less than $100 a head. Open until 11 p.m. seven days a week, it also works as an after-dinner plan. Book ahead, start in the sauna, and save the coldest beer for the soak.