1618-2 Sans Souci begins sale of its rooms THE MIAMI HERALD
Copyright (c) 1986, The Miami Herald
DATE: Thursday, April 10, 1986 EDITION: FINAL
SECTION: NEIGHBORS MB PAGE: 3 LENGTH: 46 lines
SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: DEBBIE SONTAG Herald Staff Writer
SANS SOUCI
BEGINS SALE
OF ITS ROOMS
The Sans Souci is the latest Miami Beach hotel to give up on the tourist
trade and start selling its rooms.
The 37-year-old Sans Souci has joined three other large Beach hotels --
the Versailles, the Deauville and the Carillon -- in the condominium market.
Long-term leases on its 258 rooms
went on sale March 23 for prices ranging from $17,990 to $48,000.
"Business on Miami Beach, in spite of a good winter, is not coming back
unless gambling comes in to spark plug business, " said Milt Towbin, executive
vice president of the Sans Souci and the Versailles. "That being an open
question, the decision was made to take this route. "
The hotel is owned by "Leonard Lansburgh et. al.", according to county
property records. The others are hoteliers Bennett Lifter and Harry Levy,
confirmed Adele Levy, reservations manager at the Sans Souci.
Like the Deauville, the Sans Souci lures the potential buyer with the
mention of gambling.
"Buying is no gamble at the Sans Souci Hotel, " said a nearly half page ad
in Sunday's Miami Herald. "For $17,990 you can have a stake in the future of
Miami Beach. And best of all, if casino gambling is approved, you are not
forced to sell anything back at a fraction of its value."
The Sans Souci does not have the 500 rooms needed to house a casino under
the gambling referendum that will be on the ballot in November.
The Sans Souci is not using gambling as }Fait, Towbin said: "It really is
only a play on words. "
The Deauville's ads more explicitly suggest that buying a hotel room
would prove a wise investment if casino gambling is legalized.
The Sans Souci has sold leases on fifty rooms in the last two weeks, said
sales manager Mark McGowan. A $1,000 down payment is accepted. The leases
expire in 2048.
The hotel is inviting buyers to lease rooms back to the Sans Souci owners
for four months during peak tourist season. In exchange, the maintenance fee
would be cut in half during the remaining eight months.
"I don't like losing another hotel," said Murray Gold, director of Miami
Beach's hotel association. "But these hotel owners are looking for the most
legitimate, logical way out of a maze they can't creep out of. Who can blame
them?"
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