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TROPICALLI,,,FE ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT
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LIFESTYLES
BOOKS
SUNDAY, MARCH 28, 2004
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ANDRE BALAZS CAPATILIZED •
-
ON COOL IN MIAMI BEACH -
WITH THE RALEIGH HOTEL. . \
NOW, HE HOPES TO INFUSE HIP ,.- •
INTO THE LIDO SPA. `
BY LYDIA MARTIN
Imartin@herald.com
Out by the Raleigh hotel's famed swim- %`
ming pool,a giddy mirage unfolds. Hipsters ;-;`ii;
in $200 flip-flops sip icy cocktails and take
in lulling electronica while fancy lap dogs
get slipped bits of burgers and Matt Damon
knocks back Ciroc with Liquid Ice.
Can it be that this dramatically scalloped
lagoon framed by a wading pool, the stage
for Esther Willams' wet ballets, the design
gem from Deco's glory days—can it be that
this pool has finally sprung back to life? ' ^
Just a couple of seasons ago,the Raleigh,
which has known greatness and has known
tumbleweed, sat in a post-renaissance stu
por.It was the moribund hotel, 1775 Collins '.-
Ave., that snapped back to life to host the
first wave of SoBe's revival in the early
1990s.After a few years of frolic,it flatlined t: .,, ,, .s' 4 1
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again. - .i
C.W.GRIFFIN/HERALD STAFF
¢ that retains the original tropical elegance.
And an outdoor regreening,with a thicket of
Nl, palms adding mystery to the front drive and
L seagrapes punctuating a new beachy outdoor
aft T •_, `' ` ' r ° lounge complete with curtained cabanas. He
�•"'-' 1,-e;- •,- #' �? raised the yard behind the pool by six feet to
s s •; ;A,, oio.. gain a view of the Atlantic- By fall, Balazs
-;,- ''r '17 t +, ' +r � says, the 104 rooms (rates from $295 to
�r m""' .c., $475) will be redone in what he calls an
t ,,r• ��,, "Old Havana"vibe.
. ' �`_ And also by fall,he hopes to unveil an in-
' carnation of the Lido Spa,the 1950s relic on
j ~fir , the Venetian Causeway that once invoked
cr • the spirit of the Borscht Belt and will soon
reemerge as a Standard spa,where whipper-
snappers will replace the white-haired set for
imud baths and massages. ]?ricin follows
w `4 Balazs'philosophy that rich is not necessari-
ly righteous- Rooms start at$95, like at the
i
g
L.A.and Hollywood Standards.
a "Traditionally, high-end boutique hotels
€'` ', , +, ''r - catered to older, more monied people,"says
"" the ruggedly handsome, soft-spoken Balazs,
• :; . born in Boston to Hungarian parents."It was
believed that sophistication came with age
w' y and money. And there was a certain look to
that, a certain content. Then I noticed that
di young people could actually be more sophis-
ticated culturally and had a greater desire for
meaning in the way things came together.
,� Even the graphics on the note pads meant
__ - „�;4 "� t something. But they arc people, notwith-
' ' • ..:., standing the movie stars, who tend to have
• '' _'' �, less money."
"" ,4 They are also people infinitely amused by
/, rlava lamp aesthetics,which is why the roof-
_............." K- 'l ..� •010 top pool at the downtown L.A.Standard fea-
tures vibrating waterbeds and a Twister-in-
'*,4 spired dance floor. And the Standard in
,. Hollywood offers wall-to-ceiling shag car-
°F$ peting, Charles Eames surfboard tables,
electric blue Astroturf by the pool — and a
„. '' glass box in the lobby showcasing slumber-
-;,, `ti- _.. „, ing,scantily clad models.
JARED LAZARUS/HERALD STAFF The new version of the Lido will feature a
SOBE COOL:André Balazs,with his reviving of the Raleigh and other properties around playful, if sedate, Scandinavian vibe, with
the country, could be the hippest hotelier in America.Above,the Raleigh pool, called'the blond woods and retro canvas chairs and
l most beautiful in Florida' in 1940, remains largely unchanged. picnic baskets doubling as nightstands and,
for some reason, quilted cozies covering
wall-mounted flatscreen TVs.
By the time André Balazs took it off the of fashion.To say that Miami is in or out is Outside each door at the motelish Lido
hands of previous owner Ken Zarrilli in like saying that New York is in or out. I will be Army cots and bathtubs, though if
2002(for$25 million,according to property mean, that's a ludicrous construct," he says you're not the exhibitionist sort you'll use
records), the place was pretty much a ghost as he sips his favorite Rose in the Raleigh's the shower inside your room. The only at-
1 town. Which is why folks in the know in retro penthouse while staffers set out candles tempt at bathtub privacy are mesh dividers
1I South Beach tourism scratched their heads. they just ran out to buy. that don't leave much to the imagination.
The collective question: What was Balazs The candles, and the extra bottle of Do- But,as a staffer says,"If you're gonna be a
thinking,buying the 1940 hotel that had fall- maine Ott Rosé chilling in a bucket, are for prude, you probably shouldn't be at the
en out of favor even before 9/11 felled ev- the benefit of Uma Thurman, Balazs' new Standard."
erybody else? squeeze,who is on her way up. Balazs himself has famously gone skin-
But here it was,post 9/11,everybody was ny-dipping in the Raleigh pool, a clear call
hurting, the too-cool Shore Club up the HOTEL KING to the edgy crowd. Balazs knew better than
street was giving away spanking new rooms Balazs today could lay claim to the title to mess with the pool that, in 1940, Life
at 100 bucks a night—and Balazs was going of hippest hotelier in America, with Soho's magazine dubbed"the most beautiful pool in
to try to make something of the Raleigh just Mercer, Hollywood's resurrected Chateau the state of Florida" and five decades later
as everybody else was pronouncing the Marmont, and two Standard hotels (one in Conde Nast voted"one of the 16 sexiest in
Beach over? downtown Los Angeles and the other on the world."But he did heat it,likely to make
"Miami is a big-league city now,"is basi- Hollywood's Sunset Strip), all packing in it more inviting to skinnydippers.
cally what Balazs was thinking- the funky and famous. "Who wouldn't want to swim naked in
"It's not a second-tier or third-tier city Now he's luring them to the Raleigh, that pool?" Balazs says with a smile. "That
that goes up and down with the vicissitudes which has undergone a lobby refreshening pool is nice."
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JARED LAZARUS/HERALD STAFF JOSHUA PREZANT/FOR THE HERALD
AN INSTITUTION:The Raleigh, built in THINGS HEATING UP: On Soiree Sundays,folks hang out by a fire on the beach in back
1940,surged back to life in the early 1990s. of the Raleigh.
charm was that it didn't know from VIP Beach House in Bal Harbour. "His fresh
rooms or velvet ropes. Paparazzi-free super- eyes gave everybody else fresh eyes.It made
stars and supermodels blithely played everybody say, `Damn, we are a special
among local kids and drag queens. place.'"
But Balazs won't take credit for anything
ART BASEL PARTY beyond having a broader vision than many
,. + Which is why in December,when the Ra- locals.
rw' leigh hosted a party during Art Basel fcstivi- "There are three serious cities in America.
„;r f ties for New York photographer Patrick Mc- New York, L.A. and Miami. Every day,Mi-
lit:;, �3 Mullan, the old-timers, partying among a ami becomes a city with a more complex so-
.. ' a - sexy new international arts set, perked up. cial and cultural life. What makes a great
. The word of the night: The old Beach was cultural metropolis is the mix. Miami has
kback.McMullan,a South Beach fixture him- that. But Miami also has an inferiority com-
self,stood at the velvet ropes to ensure they plex."
didn't slow anybody down.Because the tru- Which is why Balazs isn't trying to im-
ly cool know attitude is for the wannabes. port the Mercer's energy, or the Standard's
' ' "It was a great party because it had the or even the Marmont's.The Raleigh is a ho-
feel of the Raleigh in the late '80s, early tel revived,but not re-thought.
'90s,when it was an undercover place where "It's not exciting to have a place in Miami
the hippest people could go and just blend look like a place in Paris, or worse, like a
in,"says longtime Beach player Dennis Ley- place in New York. Miami has nothing to
va. "Once again it's a really cool, chill-out learn from New York.New York can learn a
NEW SQUEEZE: Uma Thurman, separat- place.At all the other hip hotels,you're un- lot from Miami. Miami is an inherently vi-
ed from Ethan Hawke is seeing Balazs. der the klieg lights.Who really wants that?" brant city that has nothing to do with what
Balazs sizes up his hotel and his followers: some travel magazine decides to declare it."
Uma has just walked in, legs taller and "I think at its core,there is a certain open-
cheekbones higher than her movies do jus- mindedness.There is no sense of these peo- SECRET PLACES
tice. She doesn't want to interrupt, but then ple are the right people and those people arc And it's a city he and Thurman are dying
again,she wouldn't mind watching her boy- the wrong people. People like us are people to know better. They ask about out-of-the-
friend be interviewed.Just for kicks. who are culturally sophisticated. They are way restaurants, Cuban music joints. They
"Have you been hard on him?"she wants artists and creative people. They know who want to be shown the stuff travel magazines
to know. they are and they are not worried about ho- aren't hip to.
So you ask what's going on with their re- tels as fashion brands. There's no, 'I'm go- "Miami is particularly exciting right now
lationship, which sprung to life soon after ing to stay here because it makes me cool.' because it's on the cusp of something even
Balazs' divorce from Katie Ford, head of They make their own opinions." greater.It feels less glitzy and in a way more
Ford Models, and Thurman's separation Even before Balazs ripped out the first authentic and deep," Balazs says. "But I
from Mr. Reality Bites, Ethan Hawke. old carpet, news of his South Beach plans know people who arc afraid of Miami. Be-
"I can't talk about that," Balazs says as echoed through a smarting hotel industry. It cause it unlocks possibilities. People who
Thurman snuggles up to him.During the rest was a sign that maybe things would start are afraid of Miami are people who are
of the interview he holds her hand. looking up. afraid of themselves."
Balazs knows his audience,and he knows And it is quite true that Miami is a city
what they want. They want cool. But they NEW LOOK where the mercury rises, the barometer
don't want the self-conscious brand. "Definitely,André investing made every- drops—and freakiness comes out to play.
What they want is something that smacks body who has been on South Beach for 10 "I've been freaky in other places," says
of that first fluttering of South Beach hip, years take a new look,"said hotelier Jennifer Thurman. "But Miami has yet to find the
which visited upon the Raleigh before it vis- Rubell, whose family owns the Greenview button."
ited everybody else. Back then,the Beach's and Albion on South Beach and the To which we say,give us a minute.
F
THE RALEIGH 1775 COLLINS AVENUE MIAMI BEACH FL 33139 PHONE 800 848 1775 RALEIGHHOTEL.COM