1615-18 Various Miami Beach DATE: Thursday, October 22, 1998 EDITION: Final
SECTION: Business PAGE: 1C LENGTH: 75 lines
ILLUSTRATION: color photo: The Essex Hotel (a) ; map: Hot Properties
SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: By BARBARA De LOLLIS And CYNTHIA CORZO Herald Business
Writers
$6M FOR DECO GEM
SOUTH BEACH' S WINTERHAVEN HOTEL FETCHES RECORD PRICE
The sale this week of the Winterhaven Hotel on South Beach' s neon-lit Ocean
Drive set a record price for unrehabilitated hotels and delivered another Art
Deco district hotel into the hands of a growing hotel chain.
The six-story, 70-room Art Deco gem at 1400 Ocean Dr. fetched $6 million
for Mel Schlesser, the Miami Beach developer and property manager who owned it
for the past 12 years. He bought it for $1 . 05 million, renovating primarily on
an as-needed basis, said Jeffrey M. Cohen, president of Real Estate
Enterprises and the broker who handled the sale.
The new owner, Deco Simon, an affiliate of a Dallas investment group called
the Winslow Group, plans to invest $3 million and overhaul everything from the
plumbing to the furnishings, Cohen said.
Last year, the Winslow group purchased the Essex Hotel five blocks away on
Collins Avenue at 10th Street, paying $3 . 8 million for the 67 rooms. Winslow
buys and repositions small hotels across the nation. Winslow partner Rick
Besse was not available for comment.
The Winterhaven sits between two other hotels that are undergoing
renovations: the Edgewater to the north and the Carlyle to the south.
The Carlyle, at 1250 Ocean Dr. , will soon undergo a total makeover. Owned
by Diesel Jeans, the Italian clothing company, the Carlyle is scheduled to
reopen in 2001 with a - -futuristic " concept. Renzo Rosso, founder of Diesel
clothing and owner of the Pelican Hotel on South Beach, and Michele Merlo,
president of the Pelican and Carlyle properties, are in discussions with
architects and designers to begin work on the hotel.
"The whole plan is to build a minimalist design on the outside that is
very futuristic because it is so close to the millennium, " said Noelle
Stevenson, head of marketing, sales and public relations.
When the South Beach renaissance started a decade ago, hotel buyers
typically did minimal renovations, such as minor face lifts and plumbing
repairs - -to get a little bit more money for the room without taking a large
risk, " Cohen said. But now, with hotel rooms in demand, investors are
confident enough to take on larger renovations.
The hotel business is so good, we 're short about 8, 000 rooms in the
district as we speak, " Cohen said.
Some of the new breed of hotel developers are positioning themselves to
capture conventioneers spilling over from the 800-room Loews Miami Beach Hotel
due to open later this year, while others aim to attract the arts and
entertainment crowd that flocks to Ian Schrager' s successful Delano Hotel.
Schrager' s New York-based hotel group is widely credited with renewing
interest in the South Beach hotel scene.
For some time, entertainment industry leaders who flocked to South Beach
complained that many of the hotels did not have appropriate amenities for
their business needs. Island Outpost spearheaded the change by adding studios
to its Marlin Hotel, which opened in 1991. Now, other small hotels, which have
traditionally catered to an upper-class clientele, are trying to lure business
travelers.
They are starting to cater to the business traveler and are adding
amenities to fill their needs, " said Jeff Bechdel, marketing director of the
South Beach Marketing Council. " It ' s not only going to be the Loews, Hyatt or
Crown Plaza that business travelers come to. Many of the smaller hotels are
being equipped to receive them. "
The Winslow Group plans to upgrade the Winterhaven as it did the Essex,
adding features for business travelers such as high-speed computer lines in
each room, and bellman and concierge services. The plan also includes
converting 10 of the 70 rooms into five suites, Cohen said.
The sale of the Winterhaven will add luster to an already booming hotel
industry on Ocean Drive, tourism officials say.
- -The Winterhaven is one of the original mainstays of Ocean Drive. It ' s
very good news for the area, " said Stuart Blumberg, president of the Greater
Miami & the Beaches Hotel Association. ' - It will continue to be an upgrade to
the street, to the hotel product on South Beach. "
Cutline
PATRICK FARRELL / Herald Staff RENOVATION PLANNED: The Essex Hotel owners
plan a similar makeover strategy for the Winterhaven, at 14th and Ocean Drive
in South Beach.
TAG: 9810230184
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mh98 DISCO DAZE
08/28/1998
THE MIAMI HERALD
Copyright (c) 1998, The Miami Herald
DATE: Friday, August 28, 1998 EDITION: Final
SECTION: Weekend PAGE: 5G LENGTH: 83 lines
ILLUSTRATION: photo: Ryan Phillippe and Salma Hayek in 54 .
SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: By RENE RODRIGUEZ Herald Movie Critic
MEMO: MOVIES
DISCO DAZE
54 LOOKS BACK AT HEYDAY OF FAMED NEW YORK NIGHTCLUB
In 1979, the New York nightclub Studio 54 became the epicenter of the disco
culture, the zenith of frivolous decadence for the see-and-be-seen crowd.
Within its exclusive walls, movie stars cavorted with causeway crawlers,
royalty danced with barbacks, rock singers partied with groupies -- all under
a bacchanalian haze of cocaine, sex and Knock on Wood.
What was most surprising about Studio 54 ' s popularity was that the club was
the brainchild of Steve Rubell, a steakhouse entrepreneur from Brooklyn with
no previous experience in the nightclub business. As played by Mike Myers in
the new film 54 , Rubell is a tragicomic figure, a likable, resourceful hustler
whose success devoured him whole (the movie completely ignores Ian Schrager,
Rubell ' s partner in the nightclub venture) .
Aided by a prosthetic makeup job that helps him mimic Rubell ' s familiar
snaky grin with amazing precision, Myers captures the dorky charm,
lounge-lizard sleaze and moral corruption of the man who lorded over Studio 54
as if it were his own private kingdom. It ' s a terrific performance by an actor
who continues to surprise.
Unfortunately, the movie isn't really about Rubell. Instead, 54 centers on
Shane O' Shea (Ryan Phillippe) , an innocent 19-year-old kid from New Jersey
blessed with "the body of a David and the face of a Botticelli, " as one
character puts it. Shane and his friends venture into Manhattan one night to
visit the famed disco, but only Shane is deemed by Rubell -- whose exclusive
door policy was unpredictable and unforgiving -- worthy enough to be allowed
entry.
Captures disco energy
Inside, Shane discovers a paradise of carefree abandon -- a world far
removed, and far more exciting, than his life at home. With 54 ,
writer-director Mark Christopher manages to do what Whit Stillman' s The Last
Days of Disco could not: capture the exhilarating energy of a nightclub in
full swing. The details in 54 feel right, from Shane ' s initial apprehension at
stepping onto the crowded dance floor to the giddy energy that comes when
people of all types -- straight and gay, white and black, young and old -- are
united in celebration under a thumping beat and pulsating lights. If
nightclubbing is a tribal ritual of sorts, then 54 was made by people who are
familiar with its subtleties .
The problem with 54 is that the movie is all surface. The flimsy script is
a heavy-handed, cautionary tale that lacks grace and compelling
characterizations . Entranced by the circus-like atmosphere at the club, Shane
gets a job as a busboy and befriends Anita (Salma Hayek) , a coat-check girl
who dreams of becoming the next Donna Summer, and her husband Greg (Breckin
Meyer) , another busboy, who becomes Shane ' s best friend.
Plot goes nowhere
As Shane and Anita grow closer, a romantic triangle threatens to develop,
but the storyline curiously goes nowhere, robbing the movie of a much-needed
story arc (54 is rumored to have undergone some heavy last-minute re-editing
-- there are scenes in the trailer that are not in the film -- which may
explain why the script feels so shapeless) . The talented cast all seem capable
of more than they are given to work with. The best-drawn character in the
entire movie is the nightclub itself, which does not make for satisfying
drama.
Another subplot, involving Shane' s crush on a soap-opera star (Neve
Campbell) who frequents the club, illustrates one of the movie ' s more
intriguing themes: A lot of aspiring actors and models took advantage of the
debauchery at Studio 54 to further their own careers, supplying showbiz types
with free drugs and sexual favors in hopes of getting that all-important big
break. It ' s a portrait of the dark side of the American dream under glittering
disco balls. But its treatment here often feels hollow, compromised by an
artificially upbeat coda that seems more designed to sell soundtrack albums
than to bring the movie to a proper close. Like the culture that spawned it,
54 is a shallow thrill.
You can reach Movie Critic Rene Rodriguez at
rrodriguez@herald.com
** 54 (R)
Cast: Ryan Phillippe, Mike Myers, Salma Hayek, Breckin Meyer, Neve
Campbell, Sela Ward, Heather Matarazzo. Writer-director: Mark Christopher.
Producer: Richard N. Gladstein, Dolly Hall, Ira Deutchman.
A Miramax Films release. Running time: 92 minutes. Vulgar language, sexual
situations, nudity, drug use, adult themes.
CUTLINESRyan Phillippe plays Shane, a 19-year-old New Jersey kid dazzled by
disco, and Salma Hayek is Anita, a coat-check girl, in 54 .
TAG: 9809010109
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mh98 DELANO OWNER RESCUES ST. MORITZ 05/02/1998
THE MIAMI HERALD
Copyright (c) 1998, The Miami Herald
DATE: Saturday, May 2, 1998 EDITION: State
SECTION: Business PAGE: 1C LENGTH: 63 lines
ILLUSTRATION: photo: Ian Schrager (a)
SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: VERENA DOBNIK Associated Press Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK
DELANO OWNER RESCUES ST. MORITZ
A hip hotelier said Friday he has purchased the legendary St. Moritz Hotel,
saving it from a fate of being gutted and turned into condominiums bearing
Donald Trump' s name.
Ian Schrager, who owns the Delano Hotel on Miami Beach and once ran the
star-studded Studio 54 nightclub, said he plans to renovate the dowager hotel,
with its sweeping view of Central Park, targeting a - -young-at-heart,
avant-garde, different, hip" clientele.
" I ' ll bring it to life again, from something that has seen better days to
something spectacular, " Schrager said.
Two weeks ago, the 700-room hotel on Central Park South closed. Trump
announced plans to convert it to a glitzy condominium. The facade would be
sheathed in his trademark bronze and glass.
But in this fast-moving town, dreams fade fast.
On Friday, Schrager was busy dreaming about the new St. Moritz after buying
the hotel. - - I 'm not going for the glitz . No bronze, no glass, no gold -- I
hope it turns to gold, though, " he said.
Instead, it ' ll be - - just pure, honest, humble materials, like wood and
limestone, " he said in a telephone interview from Mexico. "I 'm going for
something special, something intimate. We ' ll restore the old glamor, but
looking back never interested us. We' re looking forward. "
Schrager' s Manhattan-based company, Ian Schrager Hotels, on Thursday bought
the St. Moritz for $185 million from Trump' s partner, F.A.I. Insurances Ltd.
of Sydney, Australia, which has owned it since 1989 .
Just hours after the purchase, he canceled a sale of the hotel ' s aging
beds, carpeting, hangers and bureaus. - -We need that stuff, " he said.
The hotel will reopen in about a month -- as is, for now.
Schrager' s company, with Northstar Capital Investment Corp. as its
controlling partner, already owns 14 hotels known for their ultra-modern
decor, including the Paramount and the Royalton in Manhattan, the Delano on
Miami Beach, and others in California and London.
But the St. Moritz - -will be our crown jewel, the flagship of our
company, " Schrager said.
Trump had planned for the historic limestone and brick building, designed
in 1929 by Emery Roth, to be stripped to its steel girders. Large luxury
condominiums would replace the small hotel rooms.
But Rodney Adler, F.A.I . ' s chief executive, decided to sell the hotel
rather than participate in a $110 million reconstruction project with Trump
and Bankers Trust. "As we got closer and closer to the finale, a difference
arose in what we hoped to achieve in profits and the costs of the project, "
he told The New York Times.
Adler said Trump got an undisclosed lump sum payment as part of the deal,
plus a consultant ' s fee. Messages left at his company in Australia were not
immediately answered Friday. Trump refused to comment on the record.
Rates at the renovated St. Moritz will average about $250 a night, lower
than other toney hotels in the area.
Meanwhile, Schrager' s immediate plan is to lure guests with prices
unheard-of in upscale Manhattan: a double room with a park view and carriage
horses parked in the street below for well under $100 and a 35th-floor wedding
suite for under $200 .
But don' t expect to sleep on new springs.
"Yes, the beds are old, " Schrager said.
CAPTION: Herald file photo HOTEL BUYER: Ian Schrager plans to restore the
glamor of New York' s St. Moritz .
TAG: 9805050062