Document and Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2016	May. 06, 2016
Document and Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2016
Amendment Flag	false
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Central Index Key	0001430259
Entity Registrant Name	Carey Watermark Investors Inc
Entity Filer Category	Non-accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		134,627,177