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INSIDER: MIAM HOTELS
It took visionary hoteliers like Chris Blackwell and Ian Schrager
to divine the potential behind the gritty early-nineties facade of
Miami's South Beach.Now,in what can only be called the bandwagon
effect, everyone wants to get in on the act, from family-friendly
The terrace of the Shore
giants such as Loews to blue-chip chains like Ritz-Carlton. The
Club's penthouse suite.ABOVE.
thrill is gone,sigh many of the party animals who pioneered SoBe. with private lap pool,sunning
But you can't prove it by the 1.25 million visitors who spent the night area,and views of the main
last year.Whassup, Miami?The city's latest hotels tell the story. pool area and South Beach.
52 LL - June 2001 José Molina
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FROM FAR LEFT:At the Shore Club,
teak juxtaposed with concrete
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tithe lobby of the Nash.the
�' . - requisite SoBe accents of blond
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SOBE'S SMALL WONDERS
Crescent Hotel 1420 Ocean Dr.;800/445-8667 or 305/604-8225, fax 305/604- "` g
8233;doubles from$225.Noted architect Henry Hohauser's 1938 landmark was re- 1 `!
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born late last year as an all-suite hotel whose 26 units come with full kitchens,
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queen-sized sleeper sofas,and blowups of black-and-white movie stills above the beds. '
•The Sagamore 1671 Collins Ave.;305/535-8088,fax 305/535-8185;doubles from ( i4
$290.Opening next month on a prized plot beside the future Ritz-Carlton,this 93-
suite property is cast in the same mold as its sister hotel,the Crescent,down to the
light nautical theme and king-sized pillow-top mattresses.•Kent Hotel 1131 Collins )
Ave.;800/688-7678 or 305/531-8800,fax 305/672-2881;doubles from$130.As
one of the(budget)hotels that got SoBe going again,the Kent earned its$1 million- Sagamore chic.CLOCKWISE FROM
plus renovation.The 54 guest rooms now have hardwood floors,lilac bed linens,and ABOVE LEFT:The original mahogany-
stainless-steel accessories.•Hotel Chelsea 944 Washington Ave.;888/554-3123 or and-marble reception desk;a
guest room's sitting area with
305/534-4069,fax 305/672-6712;doubles from$125.The well-priced South Beach private terrace;padded leather
Group's latest entry has 42 rooms that evoke the Orient with bamboo floors,"float- headboard in a bedroom.
ing"beds,and slate bathrooms.The youthful,party-hearty atmosphere heats up dur-
ing happy hour,when sake flows freely for patrons.•Royal Hotel 758 Washington Ave.;
888/673-9009 or 305/673-9009, fax 305/673-9244;doubles from$135.White
fiberglass headboards that do double duty as bars and"digital"chaises with attached
TV-computer stands are Chicago designer Jordan Mozer's solutions for 42 of the
tiniest rooms south of New York's Hudson (there are also four suites).
Launching three properties this year, Ritz-Carlton is putting its money on Miami big-time.
Already up and running:KEY BISCAYNE,a 352-room seaside pile with 44 acres of trop-
ical gardens and a Cliff Drysdale tennis center(415 Grand Bay Dr.;800/241-3333 or 305/
365-4500,fax 305/365-4501;doubles from $195).To come in October are the 115-room
twin-tower COCONUT GROVE hotel,which takes its style cues from such
neighboring historic houses as the 1916 Renaissance-style Villa Vizcaya
CHAIN REACTION (2700 Tigertail Ave.; 800/241-3333 or 305/648-5900, fax 305/648-
1448),and SOUTH BEACH,a 375-room property that incorporates the re-
stored fifties-vintage DiLido Hotel (1 Lincoln Rd.; 8001241-3333 or 786/
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276-4000,fax 786/276-4100). Ritz-Carlton won't be the first luxe chain to touch down
in SoBe:there's already the LOEWS MIAMI BEACH HOTEL,a tinselly,swaggering diva that
combines a new 700-room beachfront tower with the 100-room 1939 St.Moritz wing.The
latter, without question, is where anyone without children would want to reserve (1601
Collins Ave.; 800/235-6397 or 305/604-1601,fax 305/531-8677;doubles from $189).
56 TRAv_L LEIS.;''<= June 2001
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in Hong Kong anymore.FROM • ^a, Or
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LEFT:At the Mandarin '74i '
Oriental's Miami outpost,the11r; '`
restaurant Azul;the skyline
view from a suite's balcony;
vaulted ceilings and enormous 1' ,. .
windows in the bright lobby. ilk 4-. .
THE ASIAN INFLUENCE
Mandarin Oriental,Miami 500 Brickell Key Dr.; :66/888-678r or 305/913-8288, fax 305/913-8300;dou-
bles from$259.The 329 guest rooms in this new ' 00 millio ,20-story behemoth are as slick and sleek as
the Hong Kong bachelor pad of a roving seven-figure eleco munications prodigy.(Put another way,Gloria
Estefan should book the Mandarin for her next videos ••t ahora.)Fifteen minutes from South Beach on
Miami's Brickell Key,a rather ghostly and largely residenti• ••-acre islet linked by a bridge to the financial dis-
trict,the fan-shaped(after the Mandarin chain's logo)''''..tt/'city h••tel"is geared both to business travelers and
vacationers who want a controlled diet of SoBe hysteria. omen an loaned pashmina shawls in star chef Michelle
Bernstein's Azul restaurant,and reading glasses ar, available in four strengths for making out the menu's
fine print("lobster cappuccino with lemongrass froth").London spa ace Susan Harmsworth designed the 15,000-
square-foot triplex treatment facility,complete with Pilates studio.This being a Mandarin,service is top-flight.
ON THE HORIZON FOR SOBE
Royal Palm Crowne Plaza Resort Miami Beach 1545 Collins Ave.Like the Shore Club,this $64
/million,422-room property mixes the old (the Art Deco Royal Palm and Shorecrest hotels)and
new(two cloud-scraping towers).Look for it in September.W Miami South Beach 1701 Collins Ave.
Rubbing shoulders, almost, with the Delano is the W chain's 203-room remake of the 1940 Ritz
A "wa erfall" bar by architect Michael Csycz (he did Lenny Kravitz's Miami cri4�,�P
beds,and wireless poolside Internet access'are all on the menu for the 2002 opening Setai Resort
& Residences 10120th St.Launching in fall 2002,this Asian-inspired 90-room beachfront resort
and residential tower is being designed by Adrian Zecha,the fabled founder of Amanresorts.The
line forms to the left for one of the teak cabanas.
LUXE LIVING
Casa Tua 1700 James Ave.;305/673-0973, fax 305/673-0974;suites from$500.From the designer who did
the Ferragamo family's Lungarno hotel in Florence,SoBe's hyper-luxurious Casa Tua offers Gaggia espresso machines
in each of its five suites,plus Loro Piana cashmere blankets and Santa Maria Novella toiletries.Since all of these good-
ies can be purchased,owner Micky Grendene calls his property not a boutique hotel but a"hotel boutique." ■
60 TRAVEL + LEISURE June 2001