And we don't mean Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas or Kwanzaa, either. We're talking, of course, about Art Basel Miami Beach. The bustling art fair and all its satellite events, exhibitions and packed-to-the-rafters parties takes place December 14, although the fun begins a few days before that, with the glam gallerist gang...
November 17, 2011
We're still talking about our trip to Parrot Cay and that was over a year ago. So, we totally understand how the beach-posh beauty of the resort inspires people to move there (what's up, Bruce Willis? You, too, Donna Karan?)--and now, design a resort-wear collection inspired by the place. Surprisingly,...
November 14, 2011
As the high season gets closer in Miami Beach, there's been a hurricane (too soon?) of activities happening around the hottest hotels. For starters, The Delano is apparently closing both their Blue Door Fish and Lenny Kravitz's Florida Room, even though both are fairly new to the property. Miami...
October 12, 2011
Miami is full of sexy hotels, we know that. But what about sexy bathrooms? You know, the kind that offer more than just your run-of-the-mill shower. A place to cool off after a day at the beach or to steam things up with your special someone. Here are the Five...
September 27, 2011
Solea, as the tabloids say, in happier times.Miami Spice is still offering its cheap eats through the end of September, but the latest hotel news in South Beach has us thinking ahead to next year's Spice--when two new restaurants will be in place at two of the most high-profile properties...
September 12, 2011
Everyone loves Miami (except maybe Cleveland Cavaliers fans) but not everyone can do it up J.Lo style paying $1,000 a night without a glance inside their Fendi wallets. So there's only one way to do it--go in the offseason which is conveniently happening now. We found totally doable rates...
August 02, 2011
Designer Melissa Odabash with the exclusive 2nd anniversary bikini. What else you would you wear to your second anniversary but a va-va voom animal-print bikini by the glam designer whose creations have adorned the bods of Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Moss and Kate Middleton?(Yes, that white bikini.) It's hard to believe...
July 20, 2011
Warren Tricomi at W South BeachBaby, it's hot outside. Summer hasn't even officially begun but the humidity is rising and hair is frizzing all over Miami. If the hairdryer is a girl's best friend in sweaty weather, then these Miami hotels should be on your BFF list. Not every hotel...
May 25, 2011
Need a little beach action in your day? The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau will serve it straight to your laptop screen, courtesy of webcams on its newly revamped website MiamiBoutiqueHotels.com. To help promote Miami as a hot destination, especially now that 'the season' is officially over, the GMCVB...
May 12, 2011
One of our favorite trends in hotel land over recent years has been the introduction of the well-curated hotel shop. No, not the dinky little gift shop where you can buy the newspaper and a $17 tube of sunblock--and not W The Store, either. Although this new little slice of...
March 17, 2011
Last night, while cutting past the W South Beach to reach the boardwalk, we spied something we hadn't seen at the hotel before. Some cute friends loitering outside that were instantly familiar and yet so incongruous outside the sleek, modern hotel. It was Hello Kitty and Miffy! (And their friend...
January 20, 2011
Which would you prefer: hotel pool in South Beach--or ice-rink in the city?If you live in NYC or have been in town this winter, you may have noticed that Bryant Park has been transformed into The Pond, a free skate rink with assorted other wintry activities on tap. Tomorrow, however,...
January 10, 2011
All week long, we'll be fantasizing about some of the Over The Top New Year's Eve events and packages that ritzy hotels are putting together. Who knows? Maybe one of you moneybags out there will invite us to party with you! Know of an OTT hotel package for NYE? Send...
December 15, 2010
You can stay at the Mondrian...on Sunday.It's Day 3 of the Art Basel Miami Beach Week of Crazy so please don't ask us to recount all the parties at hotels and who's been buying which pieces of art. What we can tell you is that it's not too late to...
December 03, 2010
While Miami hotels are focused on art, commerce and part-ays this week, we're already looking at what's happening next week. Specifically, on December 6, when the W South Beach becomes the first W Hotel to launch a smartphone app. The free application will be available online and in the iTunes...
December 01, 2010
Last summer when we checked into the W South Beach we made a mental note to check out the hotel's rooftop basketball court. Then promptly forgot. But, hey, this was long before you know who started banging on about bringing his talents to South Beach--and booking up a string of...
October 20, 2010
Now LIVE: The Upper Lobby at The Ritz-Carlton South Beach. Wait just a minute there, Soho Beach House! You may be attracting Miami's movers and shakers with your newness, but other hotels on the beach have been prepping for the high season on the way as well--and have spruced up...
October 14, 2010
For adults only. With the prevalence of peekaboo bathrooms these days, you'd think that hotels are all a bit sex-crazed. But as always, there's a difference between looking sexy and being sexy. We at HotelChatter have sussed out the 10 Sexiest Hotel Rooms Alive! These rooms go beyond voyeuristic showers...
July 26, 2010
Who doesn't love a Restaurant Week? Especially when it's actually for two months and the deals are spread across the hottest hotels in Miami? Yep, it's almost time for Miami Spice, where from August 1September 30, you can get three-course lunches for $22 and dinners for $35. All the usual...
July 20, 2010
It's hot right now in Miami but the heat doesn't seem to bother this person. If you hadn't heard, LeBron James is holding a silly press conference on ESPN tonight about his basketball future but while sports analysts furiously sound off on TV and online about where the NBA...
July 08, 2010
The Palms Spa at The Palms Hotel, South Beach You know how it's been over 100 degrees in NYC? The peeps in Miami have to put up with heat like this all the timebut thanks to the quieter summer months we get great promotions like Miami Spa Month, which...
July 07, 2010
This is how you know it's Spring Break time. The Situation is flashing his abs. OK, so the Jersey Shore star will do this at the drop of a hat, but on Monday night he was doing it all at The Fontainebleau's LIV nightclub, where he hosted a Spring Break...
March 17, 2010
Jonesin for a dose of Jersey Shore? Well, head south, my friends, because the next stop for Snooki and The Situation looks like South Beach. The show filming its second season in Miami makes so much sense that were surprised we didnt see this coming long before Sammi and Ronnies...
February 16, 2010
So, the Super Bowl is over and jubilant Saints fans hightailed it out of Florida to celebrate back home in New Orleans. But Miami isnt crying over empty hotel roomsits gearing up to fill them all over again with the upcoming Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival...
February 10, 2010
Now youve had a whole month of New Year fitness diligence, lets talk about People magazines favorite topic: weight! Everyone and their mom is obsessed with losing it at this time of year, so we imagine the scales of the world are getting a heavy workout. But tell us: do...
January 29, 2010
It's what you've been waiting all year for--The 2009 HotelChatter Awards! We'll be bringing you the best and worst of the year (and the decade) all day today and part of tomorrow. Agree or disagree with our picks? Air your thoughts in comments below. BEST HOTEL OPENING: CITYCENTER IN...
December 30, 2009
NOTE to PR People: Anytime you put the word "boobs" in the headline of a press release, we're gonna pay attention. But this press release is so cracked out, we can't even take it seriously.Apparently, some plastic surgeon named Dr. Stephen Greenberg will be holding a press conference in...
December 28, 2009
The Mondrian South Beach Apparently, hotel bookings are picking up in Miami (profits, not so much), and theres no hotter week than this one. Thats right, Art Basel is here! Shop for art all day, play all night! South Beach hotels are prime party spots, although many of course are...
December 02, 2009
Even though Art Basel is a busy time in Miami, both the art world and the hospitality industry have seen better times. Cue the scramble to fill those hotel rooms! Most of the properties in Miami Beach are rolling out special Art Basel promotions, and today we take a...
November 10, 2009
Thanksgiving may be just around the corner, but so is one of the most pivotal dates on the Miami social calendar: Art Basel. So if youre an art geek or just like crashing artist parties, its time to start thinking about where youll stay in Miami for this years...
November 09, 2009
Put this on your weekend to do list: think about where you might like to spend the holidays or a winter getaway. If your answer is a Starwood property, and youre ready to charge what will be a non-refundable rate now, you could save yourself some serious holiday cocktail...
November 06, 2009
Todd English, seen here with hotelier Jason Pomeranc.Some folks may think celeb chef and soon to be hotelier Todd English is mighty foxy but we're not one of them. We can't really explain why but it's probably because of his eyebrows. Just had to put that out there.Still, he...
October 06, 2009
Every so often, we'll be putting hotel concierges to the test whether it be in making dinner reservations, finding hard-to-get tickets, planning a day of fun activities or getting our shirt dry-cleaned in time for a big meeting. First up, hard-to-get dinner reservations at the W South Beach.When we finally...
September 11, 2009
During our recent stay at the W South Beach, we did some morning pool reconnaissance around 11am on a Saturday. We were at first annoyed and then amused and then annoyed again by the loud-talking group of revelers taking up 10 or more lounge chairs nearby. The group, mostly...
September 03, 2009
Last week we got to check out the home of that lush garden patio, the W South Beach (which one commenter guessed correctly), and weve gotta say: now weve seen it, the breathless hype makes a little more sense. (But the rates? Hmm, not quite.) The hotel is just like...
September 01, 2009
Were heading to South Beach this weekend, with plans to sample the menu at the W South Beachs Mr. Chow, which opened a couple of weeks ago. To prepare ourselves, we surfed the interwebs for some of the restaurants first reviews. Heres what we found: So far, there are...
August 26, 2009
Not that we're heading to Miami or anything this weekend (seriously, we wish) but we did think it would be fun to just glance at the room rates for this weekend at both the Gansevoort South and the just-opened W South Beach. Oh yeah, the competition is on and...
August 07, 2009
So, here's the deal: scene-y dining hotspot Mr. Chow is set to open up in the W South Beach this month. The website says August 15th, but we've been hearing some faint whispers of (perhaps?) an earlier, quiet opening prior to that date. Regardless, it's all sort of fuzzy...
August 03, 2009
We probably all know by now that the type of dude who struts around as though he believes his life is an episode of HBO's "Entourage" is to be avoided as deliberately and as unmistakably as the type of girl who believes her life is an episode of Sex...
July 21, 2009
The headline of this Miami Herald story echoes our sentiments exactly: W(TF), W SoBe? Are you for real right now, dudes? According to a reader who wrote into the Miami paper, if you're a non-guest venturing over to the just-opened W South Beach for a bit of lunch (or...
July 20, 2009
Our tipsters are awesome. A big, huge, incredibly grateful hug goes out to the anonymous reader who sent in these snaps of his digs at the W South Beach, which we assume to be a suite based on the separate bedroom we're seein' here. The place officially has three...
July 10, 2009
The W South Beach has finally opened and we've been expecting a war to break out with the Gansevoort Hotel any minute now. But while all is quiet on the guest front now, there is a bit of a legal fight brewing between the Gansevoort's Philippe Chow restaurant and...
July 09, 2009
Although we haven't been able to get our pale and pasty butts down to Miami just yet to check out the W South Beach for ourselves (it's open! Really! Seriously! Rejoice!), a very generous tipster shot a couple of pics of the pool area for us and sent 'em...
July 09, 2009
We're sick of seeing renderings of the W South Beach. Got a real snapshot of the new hotel? Send it to us. As we'd been highly (highly) anticipating for a very long time now, W South Beach is now open. Glorious! And after its inaugural weekend, the place has gotten...
July 06, 2009
The day has come: W South Beach is open. Yes, open. It is July 2nd, 2009 and, presumably, there will be heads on brand new W SoBe pillows this evening. Surreal, isn't it? Consider it your very special Fourth of July holiday present. Or consider it a sweet, sweet...
July 02, 2009
Next week is the glorious, magical week: W South Beach is opening. On this, the almost-eve of the property's birth, we felt it was appropriate to take a look back at our favorite and least favorite moments of the dramatic saga that has led up to those doors opening....
June 25, 2009
So, as we continue to stalk the W South Beach this week (leading up to the hotel's still-supposedly-happenin' July 2nd opening date), we're going to go ahead and ask if anyone down in Florida is up for goin' and checking it out for us since we can't make it...
June 24, 2009
Whoa. Excuse us for being cynics. We have just gotten word that not only is the W South Beach actually going to open on July 2nd as promised but it's sold out. Seriously. We reported early this morning that trying to make rezzies on the hotel's website yielded...
June 22, 2009
UPDATE: Sike. The W South Beach is totes opening on time. It's 9:00 am. Do you know where the W South Beach is? Cause we thought that surely it was on its way, due for arrival on July 2nd. But maybe not. Time to go a-stalkin' all week...
June 22, 2009
Okay, W South Beach. If you were a guy, we'd have already written you off. Actually, we would have written you off in, like, April: you keep on makin' dates with us and then canceling and rescheduling. In the hotel world, we are usually rather understanding of these sorts...
May 29, 2009
Yawn. Well, color us surprised. At this rate, The W Barcelona is going to be open before the W South Beach: yes, the long awaited W SoBe has officially been delayed. Again. 'Til June 26th, just as we suspected last week. The hotel's website now reflects this opening date...
May 26, 2009
We're not so sure what the story is with W South Beach right now. Its website still promises a June 16th opening, but as we mentioned already, some folks are saying that date's a little bit ambitious even after the multiple delays the property has experienced. Oy. But...
May 21, 2009
Whoops we may have spoken too soon on that W South Beach opening date declaration yesterday. Here is what we know: the hotel will definitely not be opening on June 2nd. The hotel's website changed its opening date and pushed it back to June 16th, so while it...
May 15, 2009
We reported earlier this month that we had a sneaking suspicion (or, you know, a pretty reliable source told us) that W South Beach's opening was pushed back from June 2nd to June 16th, though the hotel's website didn't really reflect that while the rezzie system seemed exceptionally buggy....
May 14, 2009
The W South Beach is scheduled to finally at long last open its doors to the SoBe hip and trendies on June 2nd. According to the hotel's website (as of this afternoon), that opening date still stands and things are all on schedule. And according to the...
May 04, 2009
While The Ace New York gets ready to Iggy Pop it up with giant canvases of music legends, the W South Beach is hanging its own pop culture art in preparation for a June 2 opening. Since Art Basel is such a huge deal for the tourism industry in...
April 28, 2009
Last week we got a little worried that the W South Beach would not be making their opening date of Summer 2009. Even though summer is still a ways off, we are happy to see that the online reservations system is now working for stays on July 1 and...
February 16, 2009
The W South Beach: When will it ever open? Last we heard, the hotel was hiring employees for a May opening. But a tipster let us know that you can online reservations would start July 1. However, in that weird Starwood way of listing opening dates, a May 1,...
February 11, 2009
Some bite-sized Miami Hotel Mambo info for ya!While the Epic Hotel managed to open on time today, the Riviera South Beach has pushed back its date again. This time we've been told the hotel will open up just "days before" New Year's Eve. We are taking reservations for New Year's...
December 15, 2008
Our newest favorite obsession here at HotelChatter is randomly W Hotels Talent Shows also known as an employment fair for a soon-to-open W Hotel. The W Hoboken just finished their talent show as did the W Fort Lauderdale. These properties aren't open just yet but they will be (fingers crossed)...
December 10, 2008
We told you last week that the W South Beach would be promoting the opening of their hotel with a Wish Wheel which would be staffed by sexy, Project Runway-dressed models cruising around in a mini, golf cart-sized Hummer during Art Basel.Naturally, with something this flashy we wanted some photographic...
December 08, 2008
That might be the most randomest headline we have ever written but hey its Art Basel Time in Miami Beach--anything goes!As a way to promote the upcoming (soon, hopefully) W South Beach Hotel models will be riding around Miami Beach in mini-golf-cart-sized Hummers with a Wish Wheel allowing people to...
December 04, 2008
It's been a slow, painful process for the W South Beach Hotel and Residences. To recap the drama: · Back in 2006, we'd been hearing about the property for over a year and initially heard the condo-hotel was going to open up in 2007. We sorta doubted that --...
November 03, 2008
We spoke too soon when we rounded up Starwood Hotels upcoming properties yesterday and told you the W South Beach would be opening on March 1, 2009.True, this is what it says on W Hotels own website. But we came across this press release this morning about a loan for...
October 10, 2008
We always enjoy, and well, it drives us crazy at times too, watching hotel opening dates slowly but surely get pushed back. Some hotel operators are infamous for it, and some manage to keep it on the DL. Starwood Hotels & Resorts is one of the companies that try...
October 09, 2008
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...
July 08, 2008
The Gansevoort South will be getting another boutique hotel competitor soon. Already next door to the under-construction W South Beach, the Gansevoort will have to fight for guests with a planned 7-story development project across the street.The Ankara project was supposed to be a condo development but now its developers...
April 10, 2008
The W South Beach, November 2007.Still not much to see here at the W South Beach. We snapped this picture last Thursday. Needless to say, we were disappointed that the construction has been so slow on this property. But with an expected opening date of 2010, this hotel is taking...
November 19, 2007
We got a very generous email from a reader yesterday in South Beach who updated us on the progress of the W South Beach Hotel.As you can see, for a hotel that's been in the works for a few years now there's not that much going on except a nearly...
September 18, 2007
Last week we introduced a new feature, The Miami Hotel Mambo where we intend to keep you updated on all the crazy hotel happenings in the South Beach/Miami area.In our first post, we pondered a 2008 opening for the W South Beach Hotel & Residences which has received a lot...
July 23, 2007
Miami is gonna get a lot more crowded than this!Lately, a lot of you having been emailing us with Miami tips and questions. Plus we ourselves have picked up on some news about hotel tidbits in South Beach, like the shark tank at the upcoming Gansevoort South.Anyways, much like our...
July 19, 2007
According to the W South Beach website, the hotel and residences are expected to open "at the end of 2007". Granted, that means the cast and crew has a whole year to finish this 511 unit development, but damn they have some work to do in that timeframe. When...
December 11, 2006
It was a sad day yesterday for the 100 employees of the Holiday Inn South Beach Resort.After 40 years of business, the place shut down for good to make way for the W South Beach Hotel & Residences. Little did we know this Holiday Inn was the first national hotel...
June 29, 2006
The W South Beach CoTel may be on its way (2008?), but for now the future home of W South Beach is the big yellow Holiday Inn. Strange thing is, this is a bit of an odd spot for a Holiday Inn--way up on Collins, far removed from the...
November 29, 2005