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Tags: Room Rate Gimmicks / Miami Hotels / New Year's Hotels / Florida Hotels / Art Hotels / → All Tags
New Year, New Hotel Gimmick: $20.10 Rate at Miami's Hotel Urbano
Miami's soon-to-be-opened Hotel Urbano is pushing a Grand Opening gimmick that ranks low in creativity but high on the savings-o-meter.
Originally slated to open in October, as we reported, its unveiling will now take place in late December, just in time to receive an onslaught of travelers in the new year.
The themed deal offers guests who book two or more nights in January 2010 a rate of $20.10 for their first night. That's good enough for those who want to kick off 2010 in a snow-free climate, but just remember--the hotel is located in Brickell which is downtown Miami as opposed to Miami Beach and its party scene. But with regular room rates ranging from $115-230 per night, you're pocketing a lot of cash and should have plenty of cab fare to get back-and-forth with no problem.
Tags: Snapshot / Hotel Toiletries / Hotel Services / Miami Hotels / Kimpton Hotels / → All Tags
Need Fashion Tape or Tweezers? Consult The EPIC Hotel's 'Forgot It? We've Got It' List
As more and more airlines start charging more and more money to check passenger bags, the chances that you forgot to pack some very-necessary toiletries into that quart-sized plastic bag to stuff into your carry-on suitcase, so you can avoid the ridiculous $20 fees, are probably going to increase as well.
That's why we're loving the EPIC Hotel's "Forgot It? We Got It!" list of complimentary and for sale toiletry items. What's free? Toothbrush, toothpaste, fashion tape, straightening irons, humidifiers, some other female products and a new quart-sized plastic bag for the flight home.
What's for sale? $2 tweezers, $2 nail polish remover wipes, $4 contact lens solution and $3 deodorant. For anyone who's ever been late to a meeting and forgot to pack deodorant and a hairbrush (that's what we forget the most!) $5 seems to be a reasonable charge to pay for a quick fix, especially if that straightening iron is free. All you have to do is dial-up the front desk.
Now if only there were a Pitbull stain eraser for sale at the hotel.
[Photo: HotelChatter's MsRebecca.]
Tags: Miami Hotel Mambo / Super Bowl Hotels / Miami Hotels / Mandarin Oriental / → All Tags
NFL Drops Mandarin Oriental for Super Bowl
Football season hasn’t officially kicked off yet, but already NFL execs are scaling back the Super Bowl splurge. The Miami Herald reports that the league recently dropped 17 hotels in Miami and Miami Beach for the February 7 event. The Mandarin Oriental on Brickell is the only property being sacked actually named in the article, while the Doubletree Grand downtown was named as one of the hotels whose reservation numbers were cut significantly.
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Inside the EPIC Hotel (Home of that Rooftop Pool)
Yes, indeedy, those pools from yesterday’s Guess The Hotel game are on the 16th-floor terrace of the EPIC Hotel in downtown Miami.
Last week, we had the chance to see if all those good reviews for the EPIC were warranted and we have to say, the EPIC hotel does indeed have a lot of amenities that will make hotel guests very happy.
Tags: Miami Hotel Mambo / Hotel Hype / Miami Hotels / → All Tags
Downtown Miami Slated to Welcome Another New Hotel This Fall
Hmmm. We get it. Miami is hot (EPIC, even!). But is it, like, four-new-hotels-during-a-recession hot? That one, we suppose, only time will tell. Indeed, another aspiring downtown Miami “it” spot, the Hotel Urbano on Brickell, is slated to open in October, with construction currently underway.
Managed by Portfolio Hotels & Resorts, the Hotel Urbano is being marketed as a boutique hotel with 65 guest rooms. Designed by Marcie DeLaRosa (who’s handiwork can be seen at a smattering of hotels around the country), rooms will feature walk-in showers “with water conscious shower heads” and most will have balconies. Hotel amenities include a “tropical, free form outdoor pool and deck” (think private cabanas, alfresco dining), a fitness room, three meeting rooms, and an “innovative full-service restaurant serving South Florida cuisine with a Cuban twist” plus pool lounge.
If we sound skeptical, that’s just our economy-awareness speaking. Best wishes and crossed fingers for the new hotel, of course — we’ll be keeping an eye on the place.
[Rendering: Portfolio Hotels]
Tags: Celebrity Scoop / Hotel Parties / Hotel News / Miami Hotel Mambo / Miami Hotels / → All Tags
The Kardashians Will Be Cleavin' at the Clevelander Tomorrow
Ah, yes, the Clevelander: it has been revamped and totally made over, making every effort to position itself as the epicenter of the Miami party scene with its recently-reopened rooms and nightlife venues (and a bit of brand new nightlife options as well).
As the Miami hotel kicked off its new life quite appropriately with an all-weekend party a few weeks ago — which we knew would be booze-i-ful and which we assumed would be filled with tons o'cleave (hey, Clevelander, Miami, the Cleve, some cleave; you can see how we arrived at that conclusion.) And now it has invited the cleaviest trio of all to celebrate the opening of something of theirs: the Kardashian sisters, who are opening, apparently, a Miami location of their boutique.
Tags: NYT Reviews / Miami Hotels / Viceroy Hotels / → All Tags
NYT Wants to Hoist the Viceroy Miami Onto the Beach
“The Viceroy has what should be a magic Miami combination,” writes the NYT in this week’s “Check In, Check Out” review — save, mind you, the location. (“The complex is in downtown Miami, which probably seemed like a good idea a few years ago when everyone was throwing up splashy buildings in the area,” the NYT grouses.)
We’d have to agree. Though our own extensive coverage of the Viceroy Miami has doted on what the NYT calls “designer cachet” as well as the friendly service, we’ve also maintained that the spot is better suited for folks who don’t mind ditching the South Beach scene.
Tags: Miami Hotel Mambo / Fontainebleau Resorts / Miami Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags
Fontainebleau Miami Calls Takebacks On the Whole 'Sexy' Thing
Whoops! Looks like someone wants to go back and revamp the ol' sexpot image and start looking a bit more fam-friendly! And that someone is not Denise Richards.
According to the Miami Herald, our old-new friend the Fontainebleau Resort— who, might we remind you, re-opened after a billion-dollar renovation with, oh, you know, half naked lingerie models (the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show) — wants to de-sexify and reposition itself as more of a family destination. Huh.
Says the Herald:
When the hotel opened, the marketing campaign ''was to play hot and sexy,'' said Howard Karawan, chief operating officer of Fontainebleau Resorts. ``Coming out of the winter, we knew that wasn't going to work. We had to go for family.''
The switch is dramatic. After spending $5 million on the Victoria's Secret bash, the Fontainebleau has all but halted the advertising campaign that melded perfectly with it: a series of black-and-white images of a sultry, nearly naked woman positioned next to the Fontainebleau logo.
Tags: Hotel Art / Miami Hotels / W Hotels / Hotel Openings / → All Tags
W South Beach Hanging Photographs to Prep for June 2 Opening
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 Miami, and because many who venture down for the culture and art will no doubt make this new W a home away from home, the W South Beach is seeking to bring that electric energy indoors with their own art collection. Letting his plans with the W slip during an interview with BlackBook, celebrated photographer Danny Clinch revealed that the hotel has chosen to feature his pop portraits and even selections from his personal oeuvre of travel images:
They decided that in the rooms ... they would stick with more abstract images that were not about the subject, but more about the photograph. They also decided to use my large photographs on the landings of the elevator. Each floor will have just one large photograph. For that, we tried to pick things that were really portrait-oriented.
Sounds beautiful and typically benign as far as hotel photography goes, although anything would look harmless compared to a gigantic neon Cyndi Lauper. Strut on down to the W South Beach in just over a month when they fling open their doors and light up the Clinch photographs on June 2.
[W image: W South Beach; Clinch photo: BlackBook]
Tags: Refereeing Hotel Reviews / Miami Hotels / Gansevoort Hotels / Miami Hotel Mambo / → All Tags
Does Gansevoort South Suffer From Fontainebleau Syndrome?
Miami's Gansevoort South, which opened last year, has seen its fair share of drama. We've discussed the delays, a fire, shady employees — but what have guests been saying about their stays lately?
Natch, we popped into TripAdvisor to take a peek — and it seems, much like the mega-hyped, recently made-over Fontainebleau, the place may be suffering from the killer-facility-with-not-so-killer-service syndrome that seems to be afflicting trendy new Miami resorts.
While there are quite a bit of positive reviews — many guests love the enormous rooms, hip rooftop pool scene and "party palace" (seriously, someone said that) vibe — there were plenty of service complaints. Plenty.
Tags: Miami Hotel Mambo / Hotel Renovations / Hotel News / Miami Hotels / → All Tags
Miami's Eden Roc Makes a Classy Comeback
Too much and perhaps, too late? Hotels around the globe are completing renovations just as travelers start to rethink their vacation plans. On the bright side, you will probably be staying in new rooms for less. This week we'll be looking at some of the new-old faces out there and telling you what these spiffed up joints will cost you. Any suggestions? Let us know.
Perhaps afraid of looking like the cougar in the club, the iconic 21-story, 283-room Eden Roc Hotel will officially join the ranks of shiny, newly renovated A-List resort hotels along the Miami shoreline.
This time the magic wand will be waved by David Siguaw, who has put the vamp into revamp in the Hollywood Roosevelt and also the Marriott Marina del Rey, although we hardly think a Marriott can be any sort of vampy.
Tags: Design Hotels / Morgans Hotel Group / Mondrian Hotels / Marcel Wanders / Miami Hotels / → All Tags
Even the Vending Machines Are Kinky at the Mondrian South Beach
Is nothing sacred? Not for Morgans Hotel Group, who have just desecrated the almighty concept of a vending machine as well as their Marcel Wanders-designed Mondrian South Beach. Doing away with a hotel gift shop and brushing off Marcel for a moment, the Mondrian brought in Mari Balestrazzi to reinvent an automat, called Semi-Automatic, for peddling their goodies. It's a great idea except for the fact that it only accepts credit cards and contains nothing edible.
That said, we're completely seduced by its clean lines and bounty of Atari classics for Playstation, and we kind of want to rub against it and purr. Aside from Atari games, the automat contains various other earthly delights such as 24-karat gold handcuffs from Kiki de Montparnasse, rentals of a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow or 2000 Bentley Azure convertible, $28 anti-recession T-shirts and $400 marabou feather vests. Only in Miami, we say. Will this vending machine be popping up in any other Morgans Hotels? Probably not, but we do know it's next destination: our fantasies.
[Image via Morgans Hotel Group]
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