Since the 1950s, when high-style designer hotels began to rise from the Atlantic sands of Miami and Fort Lauderdale, the forecast in South Florida has called for lots of sunshine with a strong chance of glitz and glamour. Even at night, the wattage of wealthy snowbirds and celebrity hotel guests seemed to produce enough star power to rival the daylight; for more than half a century, this corner of the Sunshine State has basked in a perpetual glow.
Though the light dimmed a bit in the 1970s and early ’80s—when retirees dominated South Beach and spring breakers took over Fort Lauderdale—the area rebounded in the 1990s and 2000s as a “who’s who” of luxury hotel brands began a steady influx that peaked a few years ago but still maintains a healthy pace.
As long as the visitors come, it seems, Miami and Fort Lauderdale will build it.
Miami
In Greater Miami, new names like Gansevoort South, Mondrian South Beach, Canyon Ranch, Marquis, W and Kimpton are joining a luxe line-up that already includes three Ritz-Carltons, a Mandarin Oriental, a Four Seasons, a Trump and Le Meridien, along with major renovations at established properties like Miami Beach’s Eden Roc, which unveiled a $180 million renovation and expansion in November and now offers 631 guest rooms and more than 50,000 square feet of event space.
Also debuting in November was one of the city’s most ambitious and biggest—in terms of dollars—hotel projects in recent years: the revamping of the legendary Fontainebleau. The former haunt of Frank Sinatra, Elvis and Jackie Gleason is now all spruced up for the 21st century and sporting a $1 billion makeover that includes 1,504 luxury rooms and suites, a 40,000-square-foot spa and 11 restaurants and lounges. The Fontainebleau’s new meeting space—107,000 square feet, including three ballrooms and five conference suites—also makes it one of the largest convention venues in Miami.
“The Fontainebleau has a lot of citywide convention planners taking a second look. Now that the Fontainebleau is complete, it’s really made groups think twice about Miami as a place to bring their citywides, because we now have two quality headquarters hotel options,” says Barry Moskowitz, associate vice president of sales for the Greater Miami CVB, referring to the nearby Miami Beach Convention Center and its headquarters property, the 790-room Loews Miami Beach. “It just adds so much to the overall experience of hosting a meeting or convention in Miami.”
But just when you thought hotel development in Miami had reached its saturation point, along comes the Watson Island Gardens project. Watson Island—a strip of land jutting out between downtown Miami and South Beach directly opposite the Port of Miami—is home at the moment to two attractions, Jungle Island and the Miami Children’s Museum, and not much else, but that’s about to change.
Construction is slated to start this spring on two hotels: a 147-room Shangri-La and another as-yet-unnamed brand with 350 rooms.
“Between those two hotels, there will be some very high-end, Rodeo Drive-type shopping,” Moskowitz says. “And on top of that, there will be a deep-sea marina where luxury yachts will be able to dock. So it continues.”
As planners continue to ponder which new hotel to book, they face a similar dilemma when it comes to off-site experiences in the “Magic City,” home to nonstop after-hours diversions that include everything from high-end shopping in Aventura or Bal Harbour to low-tech adventures in the Everglades, the only subtropical preserve in North America and the third-largest national park in the continental U.S.
Warm in winter but always cool, Miami has a dual nature that many visitors find fascinating. While some make the beach the cornerstone of their visit, others make the scene without ever setting foot in the ocean, heading for the bars, clubs and VIP rooms of South Beach or the area’s new nighttime hot spot, Midtown Miami, just as the last of the day’s beachgoers are packing up their coolers and heading inland for the night.
You’ll find the same variety in dining, as celebrity-helmed restaurants and bistros share a cuisine scene with places like Robert Is Here, famed for its fresh fruit shakes and homemade Key Lime pie. And entertainment options? Here there’s everything from ballet, opera and theater at the dazzling new Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts to alligator wrestling at Everglades Alligator Farm.
“We’re really on the map as a major international destination,” Moskowitz says. “With unparalleled hotel product, diversity and energy, Miami has all the right ingredients to be successful.”
Fort Lauderdale
Miami’s neighbor to the north, Fort Lauderdale, radiates a similar vibe of laid-back and sandy paired with upscale and trendy.
“[We] naturally and artfully combine a beach chic setting with a ‘Lauderdale Luxe’ feel and state-of-the-art meeting facilities,” says Nicki Grossman, president and CEO of the Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB. “There is nothing that epitomizes the casual elegance of Greater Fort Lauderdale more than a yacht reception with the best in Floribbean cuisine, with balmy breezes caressing your name tag.”
Except maybe throwing some shorts over your bathing suit and cruising the shops of Las Olas Boulevard, the area’s “style mile,” lined with boutiques, art galleries, sidewalk cafes and lounges, and a direction that points straight to the beach.
Las Olas also is the starting point for touring the “Venice of America” via a canal sail in an authentic Italian gondola, or catching a Water Taxi, which makes 11 stops along the Intracoastal Waterway and New River; Water Taxi private charters are available for groups up to 200.
If water isn’t the way you want to go, hop on a Sun Trolley to reach a variety of entertainment spots, including the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, the Museum of Art or the Swimming Hall of Fame, as well as the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center. The Trolley also is available for private rentals; in fact, one group recently used it during an excursion to the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society, where attendees were greeted by lemonade-bearing children in period costumes.
The historic encounter included a tour of the 1905 New River Inn and replica 1899 schoolhouse, complete with a reenactment of a turn-of-the-century school lesson (when fifth graders, it appears, were much, much smarter).
Too elementary? Then trek to the Big Cypress Reservation west of the city where the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum preserves the culture, language and customs of Florida’s Seminole Tribe. Also on-site are two miles of nature tails, ceremonial grounds, a Seminole “living village” and an outdoor amphitheater.
Another facet of Seminole tourism is in full swing at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, home to 500 guest rooms and suites and 40,000 square feet of meeting and exhibit space, not to mention a colossal 130,000-square-foot casino with more than 2,500 slots and games.
Joining the Hard Rock in the westernmost reaches of Greater Fort Lauderdale is the Hyatt Regency Bonaventure Conference Center & Spa, which recently emerged from a $100 million renovation that added a Red Door Lifestyle Spa by Elizabeth Arden. The 501-room property offers more than 60,000 square feet of prefunction and meeting space, including a 175-seat amphitheater, and is set within a mile of the Bonaventure Country Club, home to two PGA championship golf courses.
Most hotel development in Greater Fort Lauderdale, though, is centered on its eastern beachside borders, and like neighboring Miami is trending toward the luxurious side. This upscale growth spurt prompted the CVB last year to group luxury lodgings under a new brand—Lauderdale Luxe—at a microsite within the bureau’s www.sunny.org domain.
“More luxury hotels are planned for the future,” Grossman notes. “Greater Fort Lauderdale’s upscale hotels have arrived, placing a luxury stamp on an already casually sophisticated destination.”
A quick glance at recent openings tells the story: In 2007, the 373-room Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort, with a zero-entry pool and beach concierges, arrived. The same year, Florida’s first St. Regis opened, and has since rebranded as another ultra-luxe brand, The Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale. Next month, the W Fort Lauderdale will add another 500 luxury rooms to Greater Fort Lauderdale while “The Donald” will descend on Fort Lauderdale Beach this quarter with the Michael Graves-designed Trump International Hotel & Tower. On the horizon is a 1,000-room Hilton anchor hotel for the convention center.
At the same time, existing properties have spruced up and added to their goodie lists, including the 589-room Fort Lauderdale Grande Hotel & Yacht Club, which just completed a $70 million transformation; the 384-room Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty-Six Resort & Spa, which recently unveiled a $30 million renovation; and the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa, now putting the final touches on a green-conscious refurbishment that included 100 percent recyclable carpeting and upgraded aluminum balcony furniture.
For More Info
Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB 954.765.4466 www.sunny.org
Greater Miami CVB 305.539.3000 www.miamiandbeaches.com
