South Beach Sizzle

Miami boutiques strut their stuff

Miami's chic South Beach is swinging again. Following a couple of post-Sept. 11 lackluster years, hotel occupancies are up and development is booming. Music and film stars flock to hip new clubs and sleek dining spots. The month of August, typically sluggish for Florida resort areas, found many South Beach hotels reporting healthy occupancies, supported by international trendinistas drawn by a favorable exchange rate and a media-fueled buzz.

This historic area at the southern tip of Miami Beach is seeing a renaissance of hotel renovations. Stroll sultry Ocean Drive or swank Collins Avenue and marvel at the beauty and style of dozens of lovingly restored Art Deco gems.

From the iconic and surrealistic Delano and the coolly elegant National to the campy Pelican and playful Townhouse, South Beach offers style and cutting-edge design for just about every taste. In the following pages, we spotlight a few of the many creative and high-concept examples of SoBe design.

Editor's note: Many thanks to Noelle Stevenson, director of the Boutique Hotel Program of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, for her wealth of knowledge and priceless contacts, and her generosity and stamina in hosting a whirlwind SoBe tour. Also thanks to Miami-based designer Mary MacDonald for her valuable insights. And finally, thanks to the hospitable, dedicated and passionate owners, managers and marketing professionals who shared their stories.

---

THE NATIONAL HOTEL

Owner: Hans-Joachim and Ursula Krause, member, Preferred Hotels and Resorts Worldwide

Interior Design: Carolina Keimig, ba-haus/knf; 1997 restoration work: Colleen Lake and Gail Baldwin

Signature Element: A 205-foot-long infinity pool, popular location for film, print and video productions

Recalling its glamorous 1940s heyday, The National Hotel's 1997 $17-million restoration captured the grace, elegance and style of that classic era, redefined with a modern panache. While set smack dab in the center of SoBe's Collins Avenue, the hotel feels like a serene haven from the partying hordes just outside its front doors. The owners decreed strict adherence to the Miami Design Preservation League's restoration guidelines for the Art Deco landmark and were rewarded with a refined, sophisticated update. Many original furnishings can be seen throughout the hotel, such as re-upholstered barrel chairs in the lounge and lobby, polished chrome light fixtures in public areas and the terrazzo flooring in the Martini Room cigar bar.

---

BOUTIQUE SNAPSHOTS

Pelican Hotel—Quirky, offbeat, tongue-in-cheek design, Diesel Company's Pelican touts its movie-set themed rooms and suites, all decorated with vintage furnishings from the 1930s through the '70s, collected by Swedish designer Magnus Ehrland during his travels. Check out the Psychedelic(ate) Girl, furnished with plastic furniture and posters from the '70s; Me Tarzan, You Vain, a study in zebra stripes furnished in old safari style; or Born in the Stars and Stripes, a tribute to the American flag.

Townhouse—This playful "cheap-chic" boutique caters to the young and hip but at reasonable prices (compared to other SoBe hotels). The design is white on white, with splashes of vibrant red in guestroom rugs and the retro phones. Not to miss: a happening rooftop terrace, replete with a lighted water tower and sexy red waterbeds.

The Astor—The Astor's sunny bright lobby and clean colors give this renovated 1936 Deco classic the feeling of a tropical oasis. The cool jade and white terrazo floor matches the creamy colored glass-paneled front desk. The 40 guestrooms further this getaway feel, with their double insulated windows, muted colors and soft Roman shades to filter the intense Miami sun.

The Tides—This is the stately flagship of Chris Blackwell's Island Outpost Hotel Group, soon to be purchased by The Falor Companies, which plans to turn the 45-suite hotel into a condo-hotel. This Ocean Drive favorite features elegant, luxurious rooms and suites with dramatic ocean views. Beige-colored and slip-covered lobby seating invites guests to flop down and enjoy the parade of celebrities and wannabes.

---

SAGAMORE

Owner: Martin W. Taplin & Associates in partnership with The Pomeranc Group

Interior Design: Patrick Kennedy, Henry Almanzar

Signature Element: The striking contemporary art and photography collection

Located next to the classic National Hotel, the übercool Sagamore couldn't be further removed from its neighbor in style and attitude. The all-suite hotel epitomizes the fashion-art factor of South Beach with its restored 1948 postmodern architecture and whiteon-white lobby furnishings and walls, which serve as a neutral canvas to a stunning modern art and photography collection, not to mention-the collection of beautiful-guests.

All guestrooms have fully equipped kitchens and are decorated in soothing white, beige and cream. The sixth floor features six penthouse suites with 14-foot ceilings and a penthouse villa.

---

THE HOTEL

Owner: Goldman Properties

Interior Design: Todd Oldham

Signature Element: Fashion guru Oldham's custom-designed, color-infused bedding, furnishings and tie-dyed bathrobes

Fashion designer Todd Oldham hit a home run with his refurbishment of the former Tiffany Hotel. The subdued white façade fronts an interior awash in seaside colors of aqua and blue and green. Fifty-two sun-filled guestrooms are happy spaces filled with whimsical and artisan touches like built-in seating and storage, quilted pillows (handmade by Oldham's mom), tie-dyed bathrobes and a kaleidoscope of festive bathroom tiles. Many of the items are available in hotel's stylish boutique.

The rooftop pool is prime people-watching real estate, with its sun beds, curtained cabanas and cool bar.

---

THE RALEIGH

Owner: Andrè Balazs

Interior Design: Andrè Balazs

Signature Element: the curvey, fantastic pool, where famed swimmer Esther Williams once shot film scenes

A sexy Latin vibe courses through the Raleigh, a stalwart Art Deco gem (like The National) but with a distinctly more laidback attitude. Renowned hotelier AndrÈ Balazs, owner of such other high-profile properties as The Chateau Marmont in Hollywood, the Mercer in Hollywood and the Standard in L.A., has taken a sensitive approach to restoring and repositioning of the hotel, built and designed in 1940 by famed architect Lawrence Murray Dixon. Guestrooms are outfitted with the fabrics and style of the '40s, featuring period furnishings, terrazzo floors and cedar wood closets. In the lobby, black lacquered Deco furniture complements tropical wicker and rattan. One almost expects to see Bogey and Bacall saunter through the lobby on their way to the intimate hidden-away lobby bar.

Swimmer/actress Esther Williams made movies at the famed Raleigh pool back in the 1940s. It's as popular today as it was then for social functions.

---

THE CLINTON

Owner: Simon Nemni

Interior Design: Eric Raffy

Signature Element: A laced corset motif that ornaments mirrors, the lobby column, banquettes and guestroom chairs

The Clinton's whimsical French accent was inspired by its Parisian-born owner and its French architect and designer. From the playful corsetlaced motif that adorns select furnishings to the cozy lobby espresso bar, the effect is fun—there's no taking oneself too seriously here.

Lighting is a premier design element at The Clinton—from the constantly changing color projections on the lobby ceiling to the ethereal and moody indigo of the elevator to the blue wash soffit lighting in guestrooms.

The hotel's balcony suites feature Jacuzzis on the adjoining private terraces overlooking a serene courtyard reflecting pool.

---

THE SHORE CLUB

Owner: Philips Hotel Group

Interior Design: Anda Andrei

Signature Element: a labyrinth of gardens with secret passageways and a succession of outdoor "rooms," each offering a new scene and mood

Coveted among the SoBe hipsters for its hot bar scene and actor Robert DeNiro's cool Nobu restaurant, The Shore Club rocks. Its recent transformation into one of the hottest hotels on the beach can be attributed to a design overhaul by the famed Delano's Ian Schrager, who in turn tapped designer Anda Andrei for the look. The result: a dramatic movieset lobby with sheer white, diaphanous curtains, antique plantation chairs and handmade silver and glass lanterns. Guestrooms eschew the prevailing white on white palette of many SoBe guestrooms, presenting a colorful palette so appropriate to the dramatic setting.

Patricia Sheehan editor@lhonline.com