And good news: The hotel is taking reservations for stays on or after November 17th.
Naturally, we had to go in and plug that opening date to see what kind of rooms the reservations system yielded. What we found was a studio room with either a king or queen-sized bed for $350 a night. Apparently, that's a special rate so expect those prices to increase in high season to the regular rack rate of $645.
Forget what a bed at the Mondrian South Beach looks like? Never fear. We have that too.
A rep for the Mondrian South Beach hotel just sent over this restaurant of the planned Asia de Cuba restaurant (run by China Grill Management) which will open inside the hotel in December 2008. Here's the official restaurant and menu description.
Asia de Cuba at Mondrian South Beach blends a vibrant, social atmosphere conceived by Marcel Wanders with innovative menus, incorporating the best of Asian and Latin cuisines and producing intense flavors distinctly united.
The restaurant delivers imaginatively prepared signature dishes such as Calamari Salad "Asia de Cuba," with chayote, hearts of palm, banana, cashews, chicory and radicchio in a sesame orange dressing; Tunapica, a picadillo style tuna tartare with Spanish olives, black currants, almonds and coconut in a soy-lime vinaigrette; Palomillo of Marinated Lamb, Miso-Cured Alaskan Butterfish accompanied by a tempura-battered shisito pepper, and Lobster "Mai-Tai, with rhum, coconut, red curry and wok crispy boniato.
Mmmm...our stomach just growled. This will be the sixth Asia de Cuba. There are other locations at the Morgans Hotel in New York and the Mondrians in LA and Scottsdale as well as the Clift in San Fran and St. Martin's Lane in London.
The hotel is set to open sometime in December 2008 and while we had heard a rumor that the hotel would be taking reservations starting November 17th, we aren't going to hold our breath.
A reader sent in this snapshot of the old Ritz Plaza in Miami Beach saying that this is supposed to be the site of the new SLS Miami.
The first SLS Hotel is set to open in Beverly Hills sometime later this fall and Andrew Calvo reported on Passions of a Zealot that Miami is to be the next location.
But even as far back as 2004, Hotel Online reported that Sam Nazarian and Philippe Starck would take over the Ritz Plaza on Collins Avenue for a new SLS hotel.
Yet as this photo clearly demonstrates not much is happening with SLS Miami. Que paso? Anyone who knows, send us a hint.
According to a tipster, the The Mondrian South Beach will open just in time for Winter 2008/2009 season with reservations being taken for November 17th and beyond.
Originally, the hotel was to open in May but the date got pushed back to December 2008. Yet now it looks like you might be able to stay there over Thanksgiving Break. We tried to hit up the website to check prices and see what we could reserve but no dice. The website is still just chock-full of renderings and condo sales information.
Got any more opening scoop on the Mondrian South Beach? Let us know
Because it's never too early to start planning your therapeutic, wellness trip to South Beach, the soon-to-open Canyon Ranch Miami has begun taking reservations for October 16.
On that night you can reserve an Intracoastal Suite for $300 a night. This one-bedroom suite is 950-sq.ft. and comes with two Queen-sized beds, a kitchenette with a small refrigerator, a flat-screen TV and westward views of Miami and the Intracoastal. Oh and course, bathrobes and slippers too for when you stroll on down to the 70,000-square-foot Wellness Spa. You may not even need clothes on this trip!
Several other room types (all suites) are available with different types of views (ocean, pool or intracoastal.) One word of advice: overnight valet parking is $35. So we say skip the rental car if you can.
Since its opening earlier this year, there has been some drama over at the Gansevoort South in Miami: the first guest reviews were not exactly glowing -- well, at least not compared to the glowing fire that broke out on the rooftop in April. Yeah. Crap all around.
And on Friday, we caught wind of some really awful news involving the hotel: the Miami Herald reported that Arturo Ortiz Soto, a chef at the sushi bar on the Gansevoort's swanky rooftop, confessed to being a "serial rapist":
After his arrest Wednesday on a charge of attempted sexual battery, Ortiz Soto confessed to sexually assaulting two other women in Miami Beach, on June 24, 2008, and Nov. 2, 2006, police said. He told police he would lure the women into alleys, attack them and steal their cellphones so they couldn't call for help.
Ugh. What this means for the Gansevoort doesn't really matter -- we're just happy this dude is off the streets.
Construction is moving along nicely on the W South Beach as the hotel "topped off" their building on June 12. Although it's still been a long wait for us hotel geeks.
The 419-unit condo-hotel will open now in Spring 2009 with views of the Altantic Ocean from every room, a Bliss Spa and Mr. Chow and Serafina restaurants.
There will also be two infinity pools for guests to splash around in as well as beachfront access. One pool will feature poolside bungalows with flat-screen TVs and the fullest extent of W's Whenever/Whatever service. We bet the neighboring Gansevoort South (literally right next door) is just a teeny bit nervous for when this hotel opens.
By the way, the hotel's website is a must-see for its video of what strolling through the hotel and its grounds will be like. And also what life as a gorgeous supermodel is like as well.
Yesterday, our cold hard cynical self could not/would not believe that a new hot hotel like the The Gansevoort Southwould ever offer rooms for $99 a night in addition to discounts at its new Philippe restaurant and its Cutler Salon.
But OMG, it's totally real!
A hotel's rep got back to us with this:
There are a limited number of basic rooms in the $99 room category, so when those run out the next available rate is $195. Guests can call the hotel and mention the $99 deal and book it that way and will be notified of the next best rate if all of the $99 rooms have been sold.
Keep reading for more low-down on how to get the deal.
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by juliana
