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Tags: Super Bowl Hotels / Facebook Hotels / Miami Hotel Mambo / Hotel Promotions / → All Tags

How To Get a Room In Miami For the Super Bowl (Game Tix, Too)

Where: 1601 Collins Ave [map], Miami Beach, FL, United States, 33139

While most folks are focused on the MLB World Series, down in Miami hotels have the Super Bowl on their minds. Room rates for the weekend of the February 7 game were already laughable when we checked back in August, although today Quikbook still has some reasonably priced rooms in the $200-a-night range. (The W South Beach, however? That’s $999 a night.) But thanks to yet another Facebook promotion, the best deal in town so far is to win the Loews Miami Beach Super Bowl contest. The SoBe hotel is giving away a four-night stay valid February 4–7, 2010—and they’ll also throw in two tickets to the big game.

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Tags: Miami Hotel Mambo / Hotel Woes / Morgans Hotel Group / → All Tags

The Shore Club No Longer a Sure Thing

Where: 1901 Collins Ave [map], Miami Beach, FL, United States, 33139

Even though The Shore Club in Miami Beach may cost a pretty penny to spend the night (rates in the high season once fetched $1,000 a night), it looks like the hotel's owners are not immune to the recession woes.

While the Shore Club is managed by Morgans Hotel Group, the hotel is owned by Philip Pilevsky and his son, Michael. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Pilevskys have gone delinquent on their $111.5 million securitized mortgage. Earlier this month, the hotel owners even threatened to close the hotel down but later managed to get another loan to pay the payroll and other critical expenses for the hotel. Yet, that still wasn't enough.

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Tags: Miami Hotel Mambo / Hotel Makeovers / Todd Oldham / Designer Hotels / → All Tags

Todd Oldham Gives His Miami Hotel a Makeover

Where: 801 Collins Ave [map], Miami Beach, FL, United States, 33139

We’re still waiting to see the transformation of the old Tudor Hotel and Palmer House into the Dream South Beach, but a few blocks down on Collins, another Deco property has just had a mini-makeover. The Hotel of South Beach is now flaunting a 20-room addition and an update of its Wish restaurant. Proving that designers aren’t just in the game for grand-opening glory, designer Todd Oldham returned to South Beach to upgrade his original 1998 designs.

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Tags: Fashion Hotels / Celebrity Scoop / Pamela Anderson / Miami Hotel Mambo / → All Tags

See Pam Anderson Strut at The Setai Tonight

Where: 2001 Collins Avenue [map], Miami Beach, FL, United States, 33139

Hey, fashionistas: Did the recession prevent you from jetting over to Milan, London, and Paris for the shows this fall? Well, chin up, kids. There’s always Funkshion Fashion Week in Miami! The four-day event for “progressive, established, and emerging designers to showcase their collections” is now on in South Beach, with much of the action taking place at The Setai.

The hotel is often portrayed as a sedate sanctuary, but anyone staying there between now and Sunday will instead be greeted by Pamela Anderson’s rear. The buxom actress is walking the runway for her fashion line, A* Muse by Richie Rich, and if recent shows in New Zealand and L.A. are any indication, there could be flashing. (Rich, by the way, says the line is designed for the "fun, sexy, surfer girl from Malibu meets Andy Warhol." So, yeah—Pammy.) Also, we hope she leaves her child fashion slave behind.

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Tags: Miami Hotel Mambo / Hotel Events / Victorias Secret Model Hotels / → All Tags

Victoria's Secret Trades Fontainebleau For Gansevoort South

Where: 2377 Collins Ave [map], Miami Beach, FL, United States, 33139

The W South Beach may be the newest hotel in Miami, but that doesn’t mean it gets all of the buzz on the beach. Case in point: tomorrow, the Gansevoort South is hosting a casting event for Victoria’s Secret models.

Aspiring Angels should show up at the hotel between 8–10 a.m., with an entry form, ID, swimwear, and high heels. (No lingerie or visible logos—please, this is a classy contest!) Entrants must be 18–30 years of age, 5’8” or taller in bare feet, and come ready to rock the catwalk for the VS panel of “experts.”

Castings were held at Yankee Stadium in New York last weekend, and two more will follow—at the W Hotel Los Angeles Westwood on October 17, and the W Hotel Chicago Lakeshore on October 24. Ten finalists will be flown to New York for an “Angel Boot Camp”—they’ll live together in a loft and complete a series of challenges, all while being filmed. The public can watch videos of the contestants online and vote for the winner, who will get to walk in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show TV Special on December 1st.

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Tags: Hotels Doing Good / Miami Hotel Mambo / Hotel Services / → All Tags

The Betsy Hotel Wants To Save The World; Starts With A Bus

Where: 1440 Ocean Drive [map], Miami Beach, FL, United States, 33139

Forget literary concierges, art curators, and suntan lotion butlers. The hot new hotel position is Philanthropist. You know, an on-premises Bono who can wax lyrical about Doing Good at flashy fundraising events, and entice fellow do-gooders, including celebrities, to rest their heads at a property all for a good cause.

To that end, The Betsy Hotel in Miami has just named Dr. Deborah Briggs as its Vice President for Philanthropy. Which is a big word for South Beach, but is actually in keeping with the hotel's intentions to be a sort of salon for artsy, wealthy types who like to engage in "energized discourse." Preferably with a mojito in hand. (Or is that just us?)

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Tags: Hotel Hype / SLS Hotels / Miami Hotel Mambo / Sam Nazarian / → All Tags

SLS Miami Is Set for 2011, So They Say

Where: 1701 Collins Avenue [map], Miami, FL, United States, 33139

Hollywood club impresario and frequent "Hills" guest star Brent Bolthouse may have parted ways with Sam Nazarian and his SBE nightlife company--which also oversees the SLS Hotels. But plans for the hotel's expansion are still on. Sorta.

A year ago, we questioned what was happening with this hotel and there really wasn't much going on. But in the release we received about the departure of Bolthouse we noticed a very interesting tidbit at the end:

Also in the SBE Hotel collection are Miami’s Ritz Plaza hotel, to debut in early 2011, and Las Vegas’ Sahara Hotel & Casino, which will undergo a complete redevelopment for completion in early 2012.

2011? That's only about a year and a half away. A tipster told us in March that signs at the construction site said late 2010 and according to this photo on Flickr, taken in July, the inside is gutted but the skeleton of the building remains. In other words, there hasn't been much progress.

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Tags: Hotel Restaurants / Hotel Food / Family Friendly Hotels / → All Tags

The Loews Miami Beach Serves TV Dinners to Guests. The Little Ones.

Where: 1601 Collins Ave [map], Miami Beach, FL, United States, 33139

Remember TV dinners? Oh, the excitement they signaled. A big TV show about to start (like Knight Rider!), getting to sit on the couch with a cute little tray in front of you, and, um, the food. Right. Well, two out of three ain't bad. And if the Loews Miami Beach Hotel gets its way, TV dinners will now be known as delicious.

The property, one of the few on the South Beach strip that dares to promote itself as "family friendly" is introducing new kids' menus at its poolside Nautilus Bar and Grill, and at the hotel's signature restaurant, Preston's Brasserie, where "Floribbean" cuisine is the order of the day. And, yup, the new kiddie food is served TV-dinner style.

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Tags: Miami Hotel Mambo / Morgans Hotel Group / Marcel Wanders / Mondrian Hotels / → All Tags

Make Your Own Mondrian with Moooi Designs

Where: 1100 West Ave [map], Miami Beach, FL , United States, 33139

During a recent stay at the Mondrian South Beach, we were quite taken with the “Sleeping Beauty’s Castle” concept of Dutch designer Marcel Wanders.

After looking back at some of our photos, we wondered if we might be able to recreate the look at home—or at least, parts of it. We’re not too keen on having one of these bug-eyed lady murals staring at us when we wake up every morning.

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Tags: Miami Hotel Mambo / Hotel Restaurants / Gansevoort Hotels / Hotel Nightclubs / → All Tags

STK Finally Opening Inside The Gansevoort South With Coco de Ville To Follow

Where: 2377 Collins Avenue [map], Miami Beach, FL, United States, 33139

Mr. Chow at the W South Beach won the Miami Hotel Restaurant Race fair and square and by a mile but STK at the Gansevoort South is not to be forgotten.

The ONE Group just put out a press release today announcing the restaurant's opening "this fall." Here's what to expect, according to the press release:

A catwalk across the back bar delivers a dramatic production as guests ascend to the mezzanine level of the restaurant, and a glazed screen, spanning the double height space of the main atrium, depicts an abstract shape of a woman's body reflecting off the glass. Upstairs, a second dining room complete with a bar and private dining space overlooks the main area, allowing guests to discreetly observe the Miami social scene or be the center of it - whichever they choose.

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Tags: Miami Hotel Mambo / Andre Balazs / Standard Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags

The Raleigh Hotel Gets Dumped By Andre Balazs

Where: 1775 Collins Ave [map], Miami Beach, FL, United States, 33139

The Raleigh Hotel in South Beach probably won't be getting any more visits from its hunky hotelier, Andre Balazs. The Miami Herald reports that Balazs is close to selling the hotel in favor of doing more Standard-brand positioning. And the sale is nearly done:

The New York hotelier behind The Standard hotel chain said he has a buyer for the 104-room Raleigh and that both sides are all but agreed to a price. He expects the deal to become official within four weeks.

``We've accomplished what we wanted to,'' Balazs said of his seven years with the Raleigh, 1775 Collins Ave., a favorite stop for celebrities and local hipsters.

And while Balazs recently sold off The Standard Miami, his company continues to manage the property--something he is not interested in doing with The Raleigh. But he will take the cash from the sale and start investing it in the Caribbean. So will the Maison Tropicale finally see the light of day? We hope so.

Tags: Hotel Concierges / Concierge Test / Miami Hotel Mambo / Hotel Restaurants / W Hotels / → All Tags

Concierge Test: Last Minute Reservations at Mr. Chow

Where: 2201 Collins Ave [map], Miami Beach, FL, United States, 33139

Every so often, we'll be putting hotel concierges to the test whether it be in making dinner reservations, finding hard-to-get tickets, planning a day of fun activities or getting our shirt dry-cleaned in time for a big meeting. First up, hard-to-get dinner reservations at the W South Beach.

When we finally checked out the W South Beach recently, we had great expectations for Mr. Chow. (Even if our wallet was trembling at the prices we noticed in early reviews of the haute Chinese restaurant.)

Since we were traveling solo we didn't make a reservation, which was just as well, because our flight got in late on the Friday night and Mr. Chow was already bustling with well-heeled folks at 8 p.m. Even if we wanted to quietly take a seat at the bar and pretend we were totally fine with eating alone in such a buzzy hotspot, there was no availability. Never mind, we thought. We'll try tomorrow.

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