HotelChatter

· What Recession?: Cafes and restaurants that litter Ocean Drive, most all of them attached to hotels, were crowded today. Like, every table full crowded. And it's a Tuesday. Certainly there aren't any soup and bread lines in the near future.

· Hotel De Soleil: This hotel went through many incarnations and has now seemed to rest at the name Hotel De Soleil. The Table 8 restaurant by Chef Govind Armstrong is the main attraction on its Ocean Drive entrance.

· The Betsy Ross Hotel: The hotel looks open from the front (and we guess the BLT restaurant inside is finished) but everything looks normal from the outside.

· Construction at the Clevelander: The Clevelander Hotel is undergoing some major construction out front. What is it? Turns out the hotel is undergoing a major face-lift but it's taking forever.

· More Construction by the Epic: We also did a drive-by of the Epic Hotel from Kimpton which just opened. There seems to be some construction immediately surrounding this area too. Basically, there is still a lot of construction in Miami. On the bright side, we felt like there were less construction cranes in the sky this year compared to last.

· Another Guess the Hotel Game: We gave you a hotel this morning that we promise to unveil tomorrow, but here's a little blind item for later this week: Which NYC hotelier and sometime movie actor has plans for South Beach? If you think you know, drop your guesses in the comments below.