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After Chowing Down in Miami, Get a Rubdown from a Hotel Spa

The killer spa at the Viceroy Miami Hotel

Not content to woo us to their hot and sweaty city with restaurant deals, Miami is now trying to get us down to SoFla by extending Miami Spa Month through the end of August.

As with the Miami Spice promotion, many of the participating spas are located in hotels, giving you the chance to scope out the slickest spots in town without forking out for a room.

Treatments are $99 each (not including tax and gratuities), which ain’t half bad considering the top-notchness of the participating spas.

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Tags: Miami Hotel Mambo / Hotel Restaurants / → All Tags

Miami's Hotel Restaurants Get Hot and Spicy

Can’t afford to stay at the Fontainebleau, the Mandarin Oriental, or the Versace Mansion? No worries; just scrape together thirty-five clams and go to town at one of their signature restaurants instead.

Miami in August: Humidity is at an all-time high, and there’s close to 50 percent chance of thunderstorms. That rules out the beach, but who cares when you can stuff your face instead? Thanks to the Miami Spice promo (running through August and September), you can score $22 lunches and $35 dinners at the swankiest restaurants in town.

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Tags: Hotel Restaurants / Hotel News / W South Beach / → All Tags

Mr. Chow Will Open Very Soon at W South Beach

Where: 2201 Collins Av [map], Miami Beach, FL, United States, 33139

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 at the moment: we gave the restaurant a call this morning and were not able to get ahold of a human (to be fair, it was 8:30 am) and all the recorded greetings and menus promise an "August" opening — and that they'd be taking reservations in August.

When exactly in August is still a mystery — but keep your eyes open; you may be sinking your teeth into some Ma Mignon sooner than you think.

Tags: Miami Hotel Mambo / Hotel Restaurants / Gansevoort Hotels / W Hotels / → All Tags

The Miami Hotel Restaurant Race (Updated)

Where: 2399 Collins Ave [map], Miami Beach, FL, United States, 33139

UPDATE: So the race might be over very soon. Our W SoBe insiders say Mr. Chow is opening, Tuesday, August 4th. Take, that STK!

The race is on: Will the W South Beach’s Mr. Chow, or The Gansevoort South’s STK open first? Both star restaurant outposts are scheduled to open in August, but as one insider told us, “with Miami, you just never know.”

Even though the W just opened, Mr. Chow has been around since 1968. We have feeling they know how to roll these puppies out by now. The Gansevoort South, however, has been open for over a year, and SoBe has been salivating for some “female-friendly” steak ever since.

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Tags: Hotel Giveaways / Hotel Openings / Orlando Hotels / → All Tags

Win a Free Night at the Soon-to-Open Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek

Where: 14100 Bonnet Creek Resort Lane [map], Orlando, FL, United States, 32831

Earlier this month we reported that Hilton’s Bonnet Creek development is on schedule to open Oct. 1, and that Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek — one half of the mammoth development — was offering a free night for its first 90 Facebook fans. Good news!

The hotel is making good on its promise to offer more specials exclusive to FB fans and has extended the free-night promotion. Between now and opening day, the hotel will periodically give away free nights to Facebook fans. Once you become a fan you’re automatically entered into the raffle. Free nights can be redeemed on stays Oct. 1 through Nov. 30.

Just make sure you check your Facebook inbox frequently, which is where you'll be notified if you're a winner. You’ll have seven days to claim your prize. And once you stay, be sure to send us photos and let us know how it goes!

Tags: Kimpton Hotels / Hotel News / Miami Hotel Mambo / → All Tags

Just Kidding: Kimpton Pulls Out of the Fairwind

Oops, nevermind: we just got word from a Kimpton rep that the boutique-y chain is officially off the Fairwind Miami restoration project. Earlier this week, we reported that Kimpton had teamed up with Shulman + Associates architects to revive the historic Fairwind Hotel, with the goal of turning it into "a contemporary boutique resort" — but we shoulda known that no-completion-date-listed (on the Kimpton website, where we found the info) usually means things aren't set in stone.

And that was the case here: a rep for the hotel company says:

Unfortunately, this project is no longer in our pipeline due to challenges on the development side (as you know, we’re not the owners of the project, but just the management company brought in to run the hotel.) We realize it’s still on our Kimpton website, and we’re working to pull that off as we speak.

Whoops! Well, at least they're still keeping their Miami groove with EPIC — which seems to be going just fine.

Tags: W Hotels / Fort Lauderdale Hotels / Hotel Packages / → All Tags

The W Fort Lauderale Wants You To Visit Their Water Wonderland

Where: 401 S Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd [map], Fort Lauderdale, FL, United States, 33316

The W Fort Lauderdale's Terrace Bar

Yes, summer in Florida is sticky and sweaty. But the still-new W Fort Lauderdale is trying to woo you down to the Sunshine State with its “W Presents Wonder on the Water” promotion.

According to the hotel’s website, here’s what you get:

· VIP Living Room table with two Coastal-politans
· W beach towel, two lounge chairs & an umbrella on the beach
· Bliss® Hot Cream Manicure $25
· Chef-guided kitchen tour with wine at Stephen Starr’s signature restaurant
· Unbelievable room upgrade!

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Tags: Kimpton Hotels / Hotel Hype / Hotel Renovations / Miami Hotel Mambo / → All Tags

Kimpton's 'Epic' Takeover of Miami Continues With The Fairwind

Update [2009-7-24 12:46:41 by Jenna]:: Kimpton is no longer involved with this project. See full story here.

Kimpton is embarking on another epic project down in Miami (and, um, if you're not getting our brillint wordplay here, we'll remind you that the brand's newest Miami property is the surprisingly-well-received EPIC Hotel and Residences).

This time, they're going the opposite route, forgoing a new-build sleek, slick and modern development and going for historic preservation. That is, the chain has teamed up with Shulman + Associates architects to revive the historic Fairwind Hotel, with the goal of turning it into "a contemporary boutique resort."

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Tags: Entourage Hotels / Miami Hotel Mambo / Hotel Packages / W South Beach / → All Tags

W SoBe Introduces 'Entourage' Bungalow

Where: 2201 Collins Ave [map], Miami, FL, United States, 33139

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 and the City, so perhaps the W South Beach is doing you a favor by restricting access to its grounds: it's going to be full of Vinny/Eric/Drama/Turtle wannabes.

And how do we know this, exactly? Not because the place is scene-y and Miami trendy, but because word on the street is that the hotel is joining forces with HBO to create an "Entourage"-themed bungalow, a three-story, "extra-ritzy" space that comes with a personal driver, an afternoon yacht excursion, a poolside cabana and jet skis, and dinner for four at Solea. Though the place appears to be BYO-Weed (tell your Turtle-esque friend — and also, we're totes just kidding, don't do drugs), it does come with free alcohol from Grey Goose and Heineken, as well as Sony Playstation3 consoles.

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Tags: W South Beach / Hotel Openings / Hotel News / Miami Hotel Mambo / → All Tags

Don't Expect to Check Out W SoBe Without Your Own Room Key

Where: 2201 Collins Ave [map], Miami, FL, United States, 33139

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 just to check out the scene at the place), you may be met by a (well-dressed, trendy and chic) staffer asking you to peace the F out.

Per the Herald:

one of our readers ventured to the property last week for a little lunch and a look see and was approached by a security guard and asked to leave. According to the reader, non guests of the hotel do not have access to the restaurants, bars and clubs.

An email the reader forwarded to us from the hotel's general manager, Eduardo Fernandez confirms that, saying, "I apologize if you feel that our staff was not courteous to you during while you visited our establishment. Due to the large volume of people coming and going to the beach and attempting to use our hotel and our restrooms, we have implemented a policy limiting the use of the lobby, living room, and pool areas for guests and residents only."

Like, jigga wha? That's pretty lame.

Also, the Herald admits that they "weren't met with any resistance" when they stopped by the property themselves, so this "policy" may have some exceptions — or it may not be enforced 24/7.

So, uh, if you're interested in seeing W SoBe, we guess you have three options: either shell out a few hundred for a room, wait for Mr. Chow to open on August 15th and make a rezzie there, or knock back a few shots of tequila and take your chances.

Tags: Hotel Deals / Miami Hotel Mambo / Conrad Hotels / → All Tags

Linger On at the Conrad Miami

Where: 1395 Brickell Ave. [map], Miami, FL, United States, 33131

Hilton’s high-end chain is offering a passel of packages to entice travelers for steamy summer savings on stays at the view-rific Conrad Miami.

The hotel’s "Linger On" weekend package gives guests a complimentary third night on any stay that includes a Friday or Saturday night, with rates starting at $119. You can “linger on” even longer and get a complimentary 4th night on any stay of three consecutive nights, plus a $100 food and beverage credit to use at Level 25, the hotel’s 25th-floor restaurant and lounge.

Are you pinching pennies but still want to live it up luxe? Try the “Luxe Weekend” package where you’ll get a room upgrade upon availability, two complimentary cocktails at Level 25’s Friday happy hour, a complimentary in-room movie, and 4pm late check out. Guess their definition of “luxe” differs from ours, but at least rates start at a mere $179 per night.

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Tags: Hotel Packages / Hotel Sex / → All Tags

Paging Miley: 'Tween Waters Inn Offers Sexy Photoshoot Package

Where: Captiva Island, FL, United States, 33924

So, first of all, are you aware that there is a hotel called 'Tween Waters Inn? It's on Captiva Island, FL — and here we were saying that The Atlantis was the official tween resort! Silly us. Sorry, Miley.

Second: check out this package. Undoubtedly inspired by the sexy photoshoots so popular with its hotel role models in urban settings (ahem, The Standard), Tween Waters Inn Island Resort — who advertises itself as the home of "America’s Most Romantic Sunset" because Travelocity told them so — is offering a "Boudoir Weekend" package between August 27 and August 30th. What is this "boudoir weekend," you ask? It involves a "sexy boudoir one-hour photo session" and a waterview studio for two.

Available either Thursday-Friday, or Friday-Saturday, this weekend (made for couples) is focused on a one-hour-long "intimate photo session with renowned Naples-based photographer, Vanessa Rogers" — and before it goes down, you get professional makeup and professional hair styling (and a continental breakfast buffet each day of your stay, but go for the fruit and avoid the carbs, please).

Um, we're pretty sure this is not like, a porny-photoshoot — just a little sexy couples activity. The package starts at $399; additional nights are an extra $100.

[Photo: hotels.com]