We immediately went to the site and checked out rooms for the opening day. And we found a room at the special opening rate of $350. Ok. Not too bad for new resort property in Miami we guess. Here's what you get:
Studio king or queen bed 535 sqft kitchen 42 in plasma tv high spd wireless cd/dvd ipod player.
If you are keen on staying at the Mondrian, we say book as soon as you can and stay away from peak holiday weeks. The rack rate for this hotel will shoot up to $645 a night.
In true (re)launch party style things at the Mondrian Hotel were a little showy, with the entire valet staff lined up outside the restaurant and several women welcoming us, repeatedly.
Unfortunately, it wasn't easy to find out where we were supposed to be. When we got seated in the beautiful (but empty) ADCB Bar by an overeager host we still didn't know we weren't at the party. Why not? Because there were several parties going on at the same time.
We eventually found the party--in the gorgeous Outdoor Living Room by the pool--but didn't get a chance to checkout Sky Bar because it looked like it was closed for another party.
Cigarette smoke was a bit of a problem since the area is sill closed on all four sides, but that might be a party-only situation. The views off the deck were phenomenal and really give the space a treehouse feel.
Last night we stopped by the (re)launch party of the new, totally reinvented Mondrian Hotel in LA. The place was packed and the staff were out in full force (and costume), and everyone was falling head-first into the fantasy design. Not only was Cat Power there, but apparently Paris Hilton was around (which explains all the photogs we saw hanging around not shooting us).
The real celeb of the evening, though, was definitely Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz -- the artist behind the total redesign.
For more on the head-to-toe, looks-nothing-like-it-used-to, this-will-blow-your-mind redesign, check back Monday for our full report.
A rep for the Mondrian South Beach hotel just sent over this restaurant of the planned Asia de Cuba restaurant (run by China Grill Management) which will open inside the hotel in December 2008. Here's the official restaurant and menu description.
Asia de Cuba at Mondrian South Beach blends a vibrant, social atmosphere conceived by Marcel Wanders with innovative menus, incorporating the best of Asian and Latin cuisines and producing intense flavors distinctly united.
The restaurant delivers imaginatively prepared signature dishes such as Calamari Salad "Asia de Cuba," with chayote, hearts of palm, banana, cashews, chicory and radicchio in a sesame orange dressing; Tunapica, a picadillo style tuna tartare with Spanish olives, black currants, almonds and coconut in a soy-lime vinaigrette; Palomillo of Marinated Lamb, Miso-Cured Alaskan Butterfish accompanied by a tempura-battered shisito pepper, and Lobster "Mai-Tai, with rhum, coconut, red curry and wok crispy boniato.
Mmmm...our stomach just growled. This will be the sixth Asia de Cuba. There are other locations at the Morgans Hotel in New York and the Mondrians in LA and Scottsdale as well as the Clift in San Fran and St. Martin's Lane in London.
The hotel is set to open sometime in December 2008 and while we had heard a rumor that the hotel would be taking reservations starting November 17th, we aren't going to hold our breath.
Wow. This is the most stunning hotel delay news yet and a very good indicator of just how bad the hotel industry is getting these days.
Morgans Hotel Group has announced they are putting their Echelon Las Vegas project, which would include a Mondrian and a Delano Hotel, on hold.
Morgans has made the decision based on their partner, Boyd Gaming's statement that the
"challenging" economic conditions and scary capital markets had forced them to delay Echelon construction. The official statement from MHG:
Given Boyd's announcement and the difficulties in the credit markets, MHG believes that the joint venture will be unable to secure financing at favorable rates and conditions by September 15, 2008. MHG does not intend to further extend the joint venture agreement on its current terms but expects to evaluate future proposals relating to the project with Boyd.
In other words: Mondrian Las Vegas and Delano Las Vegas? Crapped out.
We're already anxiously awaiting the Mondrian South Beach (which should have opened in May but now has been moved to December 2008) and now we have one more thing to salivate over: the 4,000-square-foot Agua Spa.
While an Agua already exists at fellow Miami hotel Delano, this one will up the ante with new signature treatments, like the "Heavenly Hangover" package and the "Travelers Retreat," as well as an exclusive skincare line by Sjal and separate Agua product line by Korres.
Yet a special tipster infiltrated some rooms at the hotel and sent back these pictures.
The full reveal of the new decor, by Benjamin Noriega-Oritz, isn't going to happen until the fall. When we were last there in mid-April, the front of the hotel was still boarded up but the public areas seemed to be ok.
So, what do you think: love it or hate it? We like the orange touches and despite a lot of that "whimsical" decor which makes the room less stark/starcke, it still remains very Mondrian-y. Here's what the rooms used to look like.
The eagerly awaited Mondrian South Beach--we had a tour of the unfinished version back in November 2007, and we've been enthusiastically waiting for the real opening--is set to open fully soon.
In the meantime, HotelChatter tipster Michael told us about a bunch of lobby and sample guest bedroom pictures available from designer Marcel Wanders online and we just had to show you. It really does look something special.
Starting in the lobby, there's a pretty spectacular spiral staircase, as pictured above. Move into the guest rooms and you can't miss the unique design features that really make it look different to other hotels.
We love the big sweeping spaces of the bedroom and if you take a look at the same room from the other angle, we're pretty excited by its funky bath tub too.
There's no official opening date being publicized soon and no online reservations open yet, but May or June are looking likely.
[UPDATE: The hotel is set to open in December 2008 for the annual Art Basel Art Fair.]
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by juliana
Wow. This is the most stunning 
