Miami Travel Guide
Tags: Room Rate Gimmicks / Miami Hotels / New Year's Hotels / Florida Hotels / Art Hotels / → All Tags
New Year, New Hotel Gimmick: $20.10 Rate at Miami's Hotel Urbano
Miami's soon-to-be-opened Hotel Urbano is pushing a Grand Opening gimmick that ranks low in creativity but high on the savings-o-meter.
Originally slated to open in October, as we reported, its unveiling will now take place in late December, just in time to receive an onslaught of travelers in the new year.
The themed deal offers guests who book two or more nights in January 2010 a rate of $20.10 for their first night. That's good enough for those who want to kick off 2010 in a snow-free climate, but just remember--the hotel is located in Brickell which is downtown Miami as opposed to Miami Beach and its party scene. But with regular room rates ranging from $115-230 per night, you're pocketing a lot of cash and should have plenty of cab fare to get back-and-forth with no problem.
Tags: In-Room Coffee Makers / Viceroy Hotels / Hotel Amenities / Holiday Hotels / → All Tags
The Viceroy Miami's Illy Espresso Machine Will Make You Happy Morning and Night
We are continuing to geek out over in-room coffee makers. Yesterday, we showed you how the folks Down Under do it and today we're including an in-room coffee maker that we forgot to include in our original round-up--The Illy Espresso machine at Viceroy Miami.
The Francis Francis X8 espresso machines from Illy are found in all rooms at the hotel and there is no grinding of beans or scooping of ground espresso to deal with here. Just plop in a pod into "Frank" (we can call it that, right?) and steaming hot espresso is yours in a matter of seconds. There is milk and as you can see, oranges to accompany your drink as well.
We actually used Frank in the evening when we arrived at the hotel to give us a quick jolt so that we could stay awake to do some work. And when we awoke in the morning, Frank was ready and waiting to serve us again.
Tags: Hotel Bars / Miami Hotel Mambo / Hotel Parties / Hotel Cocktails / → All Tags
Droppin' It Low at Hotel Victor's 'Frost Bite Thursdays'
Temperatures may be dipping in some parts of the country, but the scene is still steamy in South Beach, where Hotel Victor the forecast is always cool on Frost Bite Thursdays.
Since its July launch, the weekly event’s been such a smashing success that the hotel recently added Garden Zen Thursdays for low(er)-key party hoppers. The way it works is Frost Bite goes on downstairs in the lobby, while Garden Zen takes place on the Vue Terrace right across from the pool. Feeling pepped up or played out -- there's a party for whatever your Thursday mood at Hotel Victor.
Tags: Hotel Music Videos / Miami Hotel Mambo / Celebrity Scoop / Robin Thicke / Rick Ross / → All Tags
Yet Another Bad Music Video Filmed at a Miami Hotel
What is up with Miami and bad rap videos? First, there was Pitbull's "Hotel Room Service" at the EPIC Hotel. Then John Legend, Kanye and Consequence filmed an unexciting video at The Fontainebleau. And now we have Rick Ross and Robin Thicke b-boying it all over the Viceroy Miami and the Icon Brickell complex with their new video, "Lay Back."
Everywhere they go in the video, there are skimpy girls in bikinis and high heels--chilling at the Viceroy's super long pool, doing a sexy strut in the spa, getting cozy in a (faux) guestroom and making out in the screening room.
The song is alright but even though we love Robin Thicke, he looks like Justin Timberlake's "D-ck in a Box" and "Mother Lover" character, just without the goatee and the 90s clothing. Seriously, what is he doing in this video? Cheese alert. However, we will admit that the video shows off the Viceroy Miami's best features--the jaw-dropping views of The Biscayne Bay.
Since Lionel Richie's video still seems to be the defacto measurement device for bad music videos, we have to say that Robin Thicke and Rick Ross' terrible video is better that Lionel's. But not by much.
Tags: Miami Hotel Mambo / Hotel Events / Hotel Bookshelves / → All Tags
Miami's Epic Encourages Guests to Read With Wine
Plenty of hotels are pushing books onto guests these days, adding in-room libraries, Kindles or Sony eReaders to their list of amenities. We’re quite fond of reading by the fire or the pool at hotels but book club events, which are also on the rise, sound a little, well, earnest. Unless, of course, wine is involved.
Perhaps that’s why Miami’s Epic Hotel was smart enough to combine their ongoing literary series with their daily guest wine-hour program—and special room rates that make hitting the books totally worth it.
Tags: Hotel Promotions / Miami Hotel Mambo / Thanksgiving Hotels / Four Seasons Hotels / → All Tags
Escape The Family Thanksgiving With A Free Night At The Four Seasons
In most parts of the country, all the signs of fall are here: cooler temps, turning leaves, football on TV all weekend, and skimpy Halloween costumes on display at the mall. But not in Miami! (Skimpy costumes are the uniform year-round in South Beach.) The 80-degree days down in South Florida make it hard to remember that we’re meant to be focusing on our Thanksgiving travel plans.
And in fact, if you’d rather spend Thanksgiving in a bikini than in a holiday sweater, the Four Seasons Miami is happy to tempt you away from your familial duties. The fancy hotel in downtown Miami (ie: not at the beach) is offering a "Stay Longer" package this fall, giving guests a complimentary third night with every two consecutive paid nights.
Tags: Hotel Hype / SLS Hotels / Miami Hotel Mambo / Sam Nazarian / → All Tags
SLS Miami Is Set for 2011, So They Say
Hollywood club impresario and frequent "Hills" guest star Brent Bolthouse may have parted ways with Sam Nazarian and his SBE nightlife company--which also oversees the SLS Hotels. But plans for the hotel's expansion are still on. Sorta.
A year ago, we questioned what was happening with this hotel and there really wasn't much going on. But in the release we received about the departure of Bolthouse we noticed a very interesting tidbit at the end:
Also in the SBE Hotel collection are Miami’s Ritz Plaza hotel, to debut in early 2011, and Las Vegas’ Sahara Hotel & Casino, which will undergo a complete redevelopment for completion in early 2012.
2011? That's only about a year and a half away. A tipster told us in March that signs at the construction site said late 2010 and according to this photo on Flickr, taken in July, the inside is gutted but the skeleton of the building remains. In other words, there hasn't been much progress.
Tags: Marriott Hotels / Airport Hotels / Hotel Renovations / Hotel Packages / → All Tags
A Fresh Take on the Airport Hotel at the Marriott Miami Airport
To be perfectly honest, the phrase "airport hotel" doesn't conjure up the most pleasant associations. While they boast close proximity to the Arrivals and Departures gates, the overall experience usually pales in comparison to those hotels located in city centers. We're pretty sure the constant stream of planes flying overhead has something to do with this.
But Marriott be damned if they won't try to reform the image of airport hotels, namely by feeding $15 million into a renovation of their Miami Airport location. Our first peek at the Marriott Miami Airport reveals space age light fixtures, vaulted ceilings with bright paneling for openness, and row upon row of cushy chairs for businessmen to take power naps in pre-meeting.
The layout of communal areas around the lobby is meant to support both work and play, with a living room-esque feeling that invites you to actually take advantage of your surroundings and mingle with other travelers rather than retreat to your room.
Tags: Snapshot / Hotel Toiletries / Hotel Services / Miami Hotels / Kimpton Hotels / → All Tags
Need Fashion Tape or Tweezers? Consult The EPIC Hotel's 'Forgot It? We've Got It' List
As more and more airlines start charging more and more money to check passenger bags, the chances that you forgot to pack some very-necessary toiletries into that quart-sized plastic bag to stuff into your carry-on suitcase, so you can avoid the ridiculous $20 fees, are probably going to increase as well.
That's why we're loving the EPIC Hotel's "Forgot It? We Got It!" list of complimentary and for sale toiletry items. What's free? Toothbrush, toothpaste, fashion tape, straightening irons, humidifiers, some other female products and a new quart-sized plastic bag for the flight home.
What's for sale? $2 tweezers, $2 nail polish remover wipes, $4 contact lens solution and $3 deodorant. For anyone who's ever been late to a meeting and forgot to pack deodorant and a hairbrush (that's what we forget the most!) $5 seems to be a reasonable charge to pay for a quick fix, especially if that straightening iron is free. All you have to do is dial-up the front desk.
Now if only there were a Pitbull stain eraser for sale at the hotel.
[Photo: HotelChatter's MsRebecca.]
Tags: Miami Hotel Mambo / Super Bowl Hotels / Miami Hotels / Mandarin Oriental / → All Tags
NFL Drops Mandarin Oriental for Super Bowl
Football season hasn’t officially kicked off yet, but already NFL execs are scaling back the Super Bowl splurge. The Miami Herald reports that the league recently dropped 17 hotels in Miami and Miami Beach for the February 7 event. The Mandarin Oriental on Brickell is the only property being sacked actually named in the article, while the Doubletree Grand downtown was named as one of the hotels whose reservation numbers were cut significantly.
Tags: Miami Hotel Mambo / Vikram Chatwal / Hotel Construction / Vikram Chatwal Hotels / → All Tags
Vikram Chatwal's Bad 'Dream' Continues in South Beach
Back in February, we did a drive-by of the South Beach site of Vikram Chatwal's Dream Hotel in Miami. Back then, the signs plastered over the construction said "Coming 2008." We chuckled. Six months later—guess what? Yup, this is what it looks like now.
We'd make a joke here about playing a game of "Spot the Difference in the Pictures," but given Mr. Chatwal's financial troubles, that seems a little cruel. And, besides, there is no prize.
More photos of The Dream South Beach after the jump.
Tags: Hotel Music Videos / Miami Hotel Mambo / Hotel Room Service / Pitbull / → All Tags
Pitbull Films 'Hotel Room Service' Video at Miami's EPIC Hotel
Oh lordy. If you've been shopping in Forever21 lately, then you've probably heard the annoying new song from the rapper Pitbull called "Hotel Room Service." The song is just about doing it in a hotel room. Seriously. And Pitbull will get his girl whatever he wants--sort of redefining the definition of hotel room service. (But does he tip his room service waiters?)
Anyways, the video was filmed in Miami at The EPIC Hotel, of all places.
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