The Hall South Beach, a boutique hotel in a cluster of historic art deco buildings that was just completely renovated a couple years ago, has been purchased by Axel Hotels, a mostly European chain of gay-oriented hotels with locations in Berlin, Ibiza, Barcelona, and Madrid. Now called the AxelBeach Miami, although the property is already pretty nice, it is unsurprisingly being renovated again and will reopen later this year.
When the 1 Hotel & Homes South Beach was first announced, like four or five years ago by now, I think I was pretty skeptical. It was yet another high-budget renovation of that gigantic barn of a building formerly known as the Roney Palace, then the Gansevoort, then the Perry—a monolithic behemoth built in the late 1960s—and what's worse was they were only redoing half of it! However, I was completely proven wrong.
There were two very different crowds at the reopenings of Doa and Moreno's Cuba, two very different restaurants within blocks of each other on Collins Avenue in South Beach last night. Doa was "refreshed" with a "cozier" interior and outdoor terrace dining, while Moreno's "reopened" at the Dorchester Hotel, after moving from a smaller location at the Riviera Hotel.
The Fairwind Hotel, which upon completion will be a collection of restored art deco, postwar modern, and contemporary buildings clustered around an open central court, and which has been in the works for, like, over ten years, is finally nearing completion in South Beach.
On the completion of a two-year renovation (sorry, these pictures are about a month old. Sue me.) the Betsy South Beach is unveiling its new wing tonight at a New Years Eve party.
