HotelChatter

As CBS reported on the story outside the hotel Monday morning, a dim, sad-looking, half-demolished lobby was clearly visible in the background. According to the online report, at first, the burst pipe only caused some water leakage and a sagging ceiling—until the weight became too much and the whole thing came down. The reporter interviewed one hotel guest, who put it simply: "it just blew out of the ceiling." Management relocated guests to the La Flora, which hopefully had enough space to accommodate fourteen rooms' worth of Claremont guests.

The lobby is said to have been the only room affected. Which is ironic, given that it's the one part of the hotel that reviewers actually liked. While they accuse the photos of the rooms of being fake, they admit the lobby is accurately represented.

Or should we say, was accurately represented. But given that several Miami hotels have been getting upgrades and renovations lately, maybe The Claremont will fit right in now.

[Photo: Tim Chapman/Miami Herald Staff]