Still not much to see here at the W South Beach. We snapped this picture last Thursday. Needless to say, we were disappointed that the construction has been so slow on this property. But with an expected opening date of 2010, this hotel is taking its sweet ole time.
Last week we introduced a new feature, The Miami Hotel Mambo where we intend to keep you updated on all the crazy hotel happenings in the South Beach/Miami area.
In our first post, we pondered a 2008 opening for the W South Beach Hotel & Residences which has received a lot of publicity but so far hasn't delivered on the goods.
A tipster wrote in to speculate on the W Hotel's opening date:
Right now the hotel is SLOWLY being constructed and would not be surprised to see that it does not open before 2010.
Oh man, we would love some more current pictures of the hotel construction. (Hint, Hint.)
Lately, a lot of you having been emailing us with Miami tips and questions. Plus we ourselves have picked up on some news about hotel tidbits in South Beach, like the shark tank at the upcoming Gansevoort South.
Anyways, much like our Viva Vegas feature, we are putting all of our Miami hotel news in one post. Whether this becomes a regular feature or not is still to be determined but for today, we introduce The Miami Hotel Mambo. And yes, it was incredibly hard not to add "#5" after that.
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.
The Miami South Beach hotel scene is blowing up and it's not all about Nicky O. This week we are taking a look at some of the planned hotels for Miami which includes hotels for which construction has begun and hotels which still remain a pipe dream. If you have any tips about South Beach hotels that you wanna share with us, send 'em down.
The W South Beach Hotel & Residences has been one of the most anticipated openings in South Beach, although maybe that's because we've been hearing about it for over a year now.
Located on 22nd and Collins Ave, the condo-tel will be 19-stories tall, with 511 units, all offering ocean views and with a ceiling height of 9ft.
All the standard W Hotel services will be involved but some new things will show up here too. Like private beach access, a secret garden with fountains and pool showers, interior decorators should you choose to own a residence and private pool cabanas with flat screen TVs.
Supposedly added to the mix are NYC's CAIN nightclub and not one, but two restaurants from Mr. Chow.
What we're most excited for? The oil-up tanning station in the hotel's Beach Club where:
Tanning oil is sprayed directly on your body with no mess
So dudes, you will no longer have to ask endure the embarassment of asking your buddies to oil you up.
Projected Opening Date: Late 2007.
What We Think: Last we heard, demolition of the old Holiday Inn was set for later this year. And considering the ambitious resort/residences plan, we say sometime in 2008 is a better date.