1675-30 Raleigh Hotel IMMO
DATE: Tuesday, June 10, 2003 EDITION: Final
SECTION: Business PAGE: 3C LENGTH: 58 lines
ILLUSTRATION: map: Spa location
SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: By CARA BUCKLEY, cbuckley@herald.com
FOR LIDO SPA, A NEW LEASE ON LIFE
For decades, as trendsetters abandoned, then embraced and transformed South
Beach, the hands of time left the Lido Spa Hotel hed - until now.
Andre Balazs, the hip hotelier who bought the Raleigh on Collins Avenue,
closed on the property May 30 amid plans to open a revamped Lido by the
beginning of next year. Terms were not disclosed.
Balazs said he would not change the structure or layout of the 106-room
hotel and spa on the Venetian Causeway on Belle Isle in Miami Beach.
"It will more or less have the same function as it has had for the last 50
years but with a new attitude, " he said by phone from New York.
The closing ends months of speculation concerning the well-worn property,
which, with its faded pink and tile facade, was a holdout on the
all-but-gentrified Beach. Balazs has a history of restoring hotels to former
glory. His acquisitions include the Chateau Marmont in Hollywood, Calif., and
the Standard hotels in Los Angeles and on the Sunset Strip.
He said he plans to restore the Lido's facade, create landscaped
contemplative spaces" on the lawn and renovate the rooms with "a gentle,
warm, white and wood feel. " He has no plan, however, to recreate the
cocktail-lounge atmosphere that has become yesterday's news in South Beach.
"The idea here is that it is going to be an antidote to all of that which
is currently on the Beach, " he said.
Regardless, the change marks the end of an era for Lido regulars, many of
whom began coming when it opened in 1961.
"Eighty percent of the crowd were seniors, and 80 percent were women, "
said Chuck Edelstein, 67, who bought the spa with his father and brother in
1963.
The Edelsteins' opening party was on Nov. 22, 1963, the day President
Kennedy was shot. About 10 people showed up. But the inauspicious start did
not stop middle-aged, loyal Northeasterners from returning year after year.
As South Beach grew up, the Lido stayed frozen in time. Its activities
leader was a 78-year old former show singer. Its lobby featured framed
pictures of various grandkids. And its prices - well below $100 a night, meals
included - were blessedly within reach.
The Lido also boasted a unique stretch of waterfront on Biscayne Bay with a
180-degree vista of the skylines of Miami and Miami Beach.
"It's a gem of an address and has sights that are difficult to find these
days, " said Scott Berman, PricewaterhouseCoopers industry analyst. "But it
needs a full transformation. When you walk the property, you feel like you're
in the 1950s. "
Though the Lido was designed by Miami Modern master Morris Lapidus, it has
no historic designation, so an owner may tear it down. Balazs, though, said he
wants to keep the original building intact.
A handful of rooms are to remain open during renovation, with projected
prices from $95 to $350 a night. And while Balazs likes the spa's neon sign,
he has not decided whether the Lido will keep its name.
"I honestly think what is needed on South Beach, if you can argue anything
is needed, " he said, "is the opportunity to be more sophisticated and laid
back and not in hyper gear all the time. "
KEYWORDS:
BALAZS BUYS RALEIGH HOTEL 11/22/2002