We managed to score some images of the new and improved, super-white guestrooms at The Betsy (formerly the Betsy Ross) on South Beach's Ocean Drive, which will premier this fall when the hotel reopens after its extreme makeover.
The Betsy's new look incorporates "contemporary tropical colonial" designs, featuring floor-to-ceiling windows, plantation style shutters and white lacquered furniture and desks next to big white poster beds.
Another peek at the new guestrooms after the jump.
If you're ready for a swim in South Beach, contributor Doug at Miami Beach 411 has got the inside goss on some of the best South Beach hotel swimming pools. The Raleigh Hotel pool topped the list for friendly staff and a cool waterfall, while The Palms South Beach got compliments for its remote Caribbean island feel.
But if you want to be where the truly hip people are, apparently the swimming pool at The Shore Club is your best bet, and you might even meet up with a few holidaying celebrities. But our personal favorite is probably The Delano Hotel, quite simply because their pool features "soothing, underwater music".
This story also has a few useful tips on the security aspect of getting into a hotel pool if you're, well, not exactly entitled to be there. Apparently, the best bet is to approach directly through the hotel lobby:
It's probably best to pick a weekday in the slow season, when the crowds are lighter and security is less intense. Saunter through like you belong there. Walk with a sense of purpose and head east. Eventually, you'll find the rear doors, usually opening to a back veranda with lazy ceiling fans and trendy patio furniture.
If you get to the pool bar, that's first base; buy a drink or two and mostly you'll be left alone. Apparently.
These days everyone is looking for four bar, non-complicated, hotel WiFi when they check in. Sure there are a bunch of hotel WiFi lists out there, but they are quickly out of date and unreliable. This week, as a lead up to our popular annual hotel WiFi report, we will let you know our favorite WiFi hotels in five hot travel destinations. The rules are simple. The signal has to fast, and reliable, the cost should be free (at the very least free for guests) and the WiFi experience at these hotels offer a comfortable surfing environment. Have a city or destination you want us to investigate? Let us know. And if you have a favorite WiFi hotel you are willing to share, no matter where it is send it our way.
Miami is pretty much all about partying with as little clothes on as possible so it's not really the place to go do work. Thus internet access is not a top priority when you've got more important things to do like tanning, drinking, reapplying tanning oil and clubbing.
But when we hit up the
The Raleigh Hotel we discovered that this Andre Balazs Hotel has property-wide free WiFi, meaning that we could still be by the pool tanning and drinking while cruising the internet. Yes, you have to be a guest, or at least know the free access code to access the network, but that makes sense at a scene hotel like the Raleigh.
Best Part:
The signal worked everywhere. up in our room, down in the lobby, outside by the pool--it even stretched out onto the beach--not like you can actually see your screen through the suns glare on the beach, but it is still cool.
A HotelChatter tipster informs us that the Tides South Beach is under construction this month:
Just wanted to let your readers know that the Tides Hotel South Beach is under some construction which does not fare well for guests.
I was there recently and it was a mess.
Attached are some pictures of it so you can get the idea.
How long will this go on? Who knows, but you probably want to call and check before you drop Tides type cash for a high season room.
Got helpful construction hotel tips? You know where to reach us.
Check out more of the photos in the HotelChatter Flickr group here. And contribute any of your favorite photos to the wanting eyes of worldwide hotel voyeurs.
According to the W South Beach website, the hotel and residences are expected to open "at the end of 2007". Granted, that means the cast and crew has a whole year to finish this 511 unit development, but damn they have some work to do in that timeframe.
When it is finished, and if we were the gambling kind we would pick 08 instead of 07, all units will face the ocean with unobstructed views, all units will have 9 foot ceilings, 5 1350 sq. ft bungalows will be for sale, and all condo owners will have the option of participating in the W Hotels rental program--Setai style--we are guessing.
After the jump we have posted a photo with the crumbling Holiday Inn (soon to be the W South Beach) in the foreground and the starting to sparkle Gansevoort South in the background so you can get a sense of which hotel is in the development lead at this point. In any event, once W South Beach is complete it will this stretch of Miami Beach will be able to boast the Setai, W South Beach, Gansevoort South, in that order. Damn, that should be one high luxe triumvirate.
A while back we prognosticated that Hotel Gansevoort South, aka Paradiso Miami, would be opened in late 2007, early 2008. That being said, after seeing the facility first hand last week we would like to revise our prediction up a bit. Yeah, how rare is that, however, not only is the huge construction crew working non-stop on the massive project but the crew is also making loads of progress. The outer shell looks pretty much done, save a palm tree top here and there. Furthermore, some decent progress is being made on the interior and exterior grounds.
With all the South Beach hotel delays and non-starters (Hi Nicky!) it is nice to see a project that outwardly appears ahead of schedule. Though it doesn't appear the locals are so keen on the market breed the Gansevoort is promising on their ad curtains--check out the photo--what is getting "Calviniezed"?.
To date, the Gansevoort South crew has been very coy about opening dates, meaning we haven't heard anyone drop an opening date yet. Could it possibly open for Super Bowl weekend? Probably not, but stay tuned.
Read more for another photo or two, and there are plenty more progress photos over on the brand new Gansevoort South hotel page.
Enter hotel rookie Nicky Hilton. Miami is absolutely teeming with new hotel projects, and Nicky O's project might be the most ambitious of all.
Who are we kidding, this project is hers in name only, and the way things are going we wouldn't be surprised if she ended up pulling out and the project was renamed "Miami O." No that isn't happening, at least not that we know of.
Anyway, this week we got our hands on some up to the minute Nicky O photos detailing what kind of progress is being made on 10th and Ocean--the site of the old Edison and Breakwater hotels where Nicky Hilton is attempting to create a 94-unit CoTel that will open February 1st cough.
Nicky and crew are being so brash about their opening date they are already selling Super Bowl XLI hotel packages for $1,100 a night plus tax, four night minimum, non-refundable, of course. Before you throw down ~$5,000 on a Super Bowl weekend at Nicky O why don't you take a look at these photos to see the progress.
Now we have been through enough of these projects to know work is always done right up to the last minute before opening, sometimes even after opening. However, our advice would be, check back in a month or so because this particular construction crew will have to move mountains to get this place open by February 1--and at $5,000 for four nights, that opening weekend crew is rightfully gonna want things near perfect.
As we mentioned yesterday, we have an exclusive deal for HotelChatter readers looking to get in on the Art Basel party scene this weekend.
There are currently three units available at the The Villas @ Cafe Milano each sleeping 3 to 5 people and starting at $299 a night. Here are each of the breakdowns for the units:
Suite 201 ($299/night) sleeps 4-5 people in 1 full bedroom, a master bedroom, and a pullout couch. There's a 1,000-square-foot living area with an ocean front terrace, big screen TV with cable and movie channels, high speed broadband internet access, a full kitchen, washer/dryer and 1.5 bathrooms.
Suite 204 starts at $349 a night, sleeps 3-5 people, has a 1,100-square-foot living room, plasma TV, ocean front terrace, 2 full bathrooms, maid service, washer/dryer and a kitchen.
The Penthouse, room 302 and pictured here, also sleeps 4-5 people in two full bedrooms with two full baths, a 800-square-foot living area, 400-square-foot rooftop terrace, maid service and a washer/dryer among other things. Unfortunately, your plastic isn't good here as this is a cash only room.
If you're interested in booking these last minute accommodations, you can call Daniel Hidalgo at 305 606 6816 or email us with the request.
More pics of Room 201 and Room 204 after the jump.
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