Tag: art basel hotels
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Inside Freehand Miami: At $21 a Night, It's More Than A'ight
Inside an 8-bed room
No one ever got anywhere by calling something a "revolutionary concept." That phrase is played out right along with "funky fresh." Instead let us say this: if Freehand Miami plays its cards right and doesn't get too big for its britches (double idiom sentence!), it has the real potential to be crazy awesome and quickly multiply to conquer cities beyond Miami. Oh wait, that's exactly their plan (for 10 properties!), so what you're about to read is the future, baby.
The Freehand is a hostel with some private rooms and it's not trying to hide that fact. It is, however, a fancy hostel with an interior by Roman & Williams, staff uniforms designed by Timo Weiland, artwork by local Miami artists, and cocktails by Bar Lab.
Shared bunk rooms start at $21 a night (per person), while private rooms begin at $109 (per room). Beyond the rooms (8-bunk, 4-bunk, private king) the Freehand benefits from an inviting lobby, a bar (The Broken Shaker), back garden courtyard, a lovely pool, a side garden of table tennis and other yard games and, eventually, there'll even be a restaurant.
We stayed for three nights at the beginning of Art Basel, the week of their debut, paying a total of $122 for two people in the coed 8-bed room. We were however "upgraded" to a 4-bed room as the 8-beds weren't totally ready.
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The InterContinental Miami's Newest Art is a 19-Story LED 'Digital Canvas'
Whether you're driving into Miami or sailing out of it on a cruise ship, keep your eye to the skyline at night as the InterContinental Miami just celebrated the completion of a $30 million dollar renovation (remember those Venus Williams-designed suites?) by introducing a new light show on its two main facades.
The 19-story LED show has several scenes; it varies from spelling out "WELCOME TO MIAMI" letter-by-letter to a lava flow to a dancing girl (video below). No music will accompany the dancing girl, but playing songs like "Lights" by Ellie Goulding and "Miami" by Will Smith sync extremely well.
Entourage star Jeremy Piven did the honors of turning the lights on, but it was really a night to celebrate Warhol contemporaries Ultra Violet (a painter/sculptor) and Patrick McMullan (the famed photographer), both of whom contributed their creative juice to the lobby of the hotel.
Click through to see our video!
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Last-Minute Art Basel Miami: Drama on Our Final Night
Our room at The Betsy
If you want to talk about high hotel rates, let's talk Art Basel Miami Beach. The annual contemporary art event—which encompasses several art fairs, art installations around the city, and a gajillion parties—brings in the big spenders and the struggling creatives alike for four days of fun in the sun.
The official days are Thursday-Sunday, December 6-9, but we've been in Miami all week hotel hopping, so we decided to throw caution to the wind for a little experiment: last-minute, day-of hotel reservations for what are the highest peak days in Miami's calendar. We're calling it "Operation Last Resort."
This is our final night of Operation Last Resort, after last-minute stays of the good (at The Dream) and the bad (at The Shelborne). The roller coaster only intensifies with some serious drama that all started with our decision to try another last-minute booking app: Jetsetter Now.
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Last-Minute Art Basel Miami: Two Nights of Regret at The Shelborne
If you want to talk about high hotel rates, let's talk Art Basel Miami Beach. The annual contemporary art event—which encompasses several art fairs, art installations around the city, and a gajillion parties—brings in the big spenders and the struggling creatives alike for four days of fun in the sun.
The official days are Thursday-Sunday, December 6-9, but we've been in Miami all week hotel hopping, so we decided to throw caution to the wind for a little experiment: last-minute, day-of hotel reservations for what are the highest peak days in Miami's calendar. We're calling it "Operation Last Resort."
Day two of Operation Last Resort, or really it's days two and three since we booked two nights at this next property. Sadly, all last-minute stories can't be as great as Day One, and ours is a cautionary tale.
Again using the HotelTonight app, we went for two nights at Miami Beach's The Shelborne for $428, plus tax totaling $484. Now add two days of $25 resort fees and the real total is actually $534. Believe it or not, this was actually the cheapest option for these dates. ACK-Art Basel!
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Last-Minute Art Basel Miami: Using HotelTonight to Score a Dream
If you want to talk about high hotel rates, let's talk Art Basel Miami Beach. The annual contemporary art event—which encompasses several art fairs, art installations around the city, and a gajillion parties—brings in the big spenders and the struggling creatives alike for four days of fun in the sun.
The official days are Thursday-Sunday, December 6-9, but we've been in Miami all week hotel hopping, so we decided to throw caution to the wind for a little experiment: last-minute, day-of hotel reservations for what are the highest peak days in Miami's calendar. We're calling it "Operation Last Resort."
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More Hotel Hopping Stops for Your Art Basel Miami Datebook
So, you've got the W South Beach and Warhol at the InterContinental in your Art Basel itinerary. What's next? Right this way, for some more hotel-hopping highlights during Miami's big, bombastic art fair-party...
Lords South Beach: 'Gay central headquarters for all the fabulous Basel boys and girls,' says a rep. We love that this bright spot on the beach never takes itself too seriously. Their Basel fun kicks off next Tuesday with a private party featuring Amanda Lepore in the penthouse. Wednesday is the Gayletter.com party and Thursday there'll be music by Jake Shears from Scissor Sisters for a poolside all-nighter. Sunday? That's Detox (or 'cocktails to retox'), baby.
UPDATE: The Gayletter.com party will happen on Friday, December 2. Check out the Facebook page for more details.
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Art Basel Hotels That Will Leave You Some Money to Buy Art
Some of last year's Basel-related public art, near the W South Beach and The Setai.
Last week, we gave you some hot hotel-Art Basel event dates to jot down in your calendar. Today, we look at where you might be able to sleep, after all that gallery-hopping and partying. Of course, if you haven't booked yet, your chances of snagging a sweet stay are slim. But here are our top picks from what's still available.
Intercontinental Hotel Miami: Yes, it's downtown, but don't forget, this is where you can hang with Andy Warhol (er, photos) and it's also close to some other downtown artsy hotel action, at the JW Marriott Marquis Miami and the Mandarin Oriental Miami.
How much? Expedia has a special rate of $299 a night.
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Hang With Andy Warhol at the InterContinental Miami
We never pictured Warhol as an InterContinental type (perhaps more of a Jane/Bowery/Gramercy Park Hotel denizen or even a St. Regis dude). But we were wrong because the superstar is checking into the Intercontinental Hotel Miami from November 30 through January 1.
Yep, we're following up yesterday's initial list of Art Basel Miami Beach hotel happenings with a standalone item today—because, well, it's Andy Warhol, people. And thanks to Andy, we're all of a sudden looking at the IC Miami through a much cooler lens.
The hotel has been a fixture downtown for 25 years and is on the receiving end of some new renovations.
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Miami's Most Wonderful Time of the Year is Almost Here
And we don't mean Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas or Kwanzaa, either. We're talking, of course, about Art Basel Miami Beach.
The bustling art fair and all its satellite events, exhibitions and packed-to-the-rafters parties takes place December 1–4, although the fun begins a few days before that, with the glam gallerist gang getting into town right after Turkey Day weekend.
As always, hotels are a hot-bed of Basel activity. This isn't the definitive guide, as venues are still finalizing their event deets, but here's a sampling of what's happening. We'll have more info on Basel happenings soon--as well as a last-minute room-rate check for the late-to-the-party art fans among you.
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The Sagamore Will 'Bloom' Over Art Basel (P.S. Rooms are Still Available!)
Miami's biggest annual event, Art Basel, isn't happening for another two months but preparations are already underway in Miami hotels as the art extravaganza approaches.
The Sagamore, which bills itself as the Art Hotel, has just announced that artist Will Ryman's 65th Street installation will be set up on Sunday, November 27. The installation is actually a 20-ft. high colossal rose bed that will "bloom" on the hotel's beachfront. Ryman's towering sculptures have been on display in NYC before but now the roses will get to soak up the Miami sunshine. Except not for long. The display is only lasting through December 4.
Thinking about getting a room for when the installation appears? Better book now. We found rooms avail from 11/27-11/29 for $360 a night. Rates are even still open for Art Basel from December 1-4 but at $695 a night. If you're serious about going, then be serious about booking now. Seriously.
[Photo: WillRyman.com]
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Will Ferrell Needs Some Help with His Art Basel Hotel Stay
Funnyman Will Ferrell did what a lot of us do when trying to find a good hotel---he asked a local. But it just so happened that his local friend was tennis camp Roger Federer.
Page Six reports that Ferrell chatted up Federer at the US Open last week about hotel rooms for Art Basel in Switzerland.
A witness said: “Will was telling Roger he went to Art Basel this summer and stayed at the Hilton by the train station. He said he was unimpressed with his room, and then asked Roger if he could get him an upgrade for next year.”
