Welcome to Gale Miami Hotel & Residences: A New Chapter in Downtown Miami’s Hospitality

Downtown Miami is set to elevate its hospitality scene with the grand opening of the Gale Miami Hotel & Residences on June 1st. This eagerly awaited development promises to enrich Miami’s dynamic urban landscape by offering a blend of luxury accommodations and top-tier amenities.

The Gale Hospitality Group, celebrated for its iconic Gale South Beach, brings this new property to life with a commitment to celebrating Miami’s rich history and bright future. The Gale Miami Hotel & Residences honors the city’s past, with nods to landmarks like The Freedom Tower. Throughout the property, guests will find photography from the Miami History Museum, paying homage to the original Gale location and inviting exploration of Miami’s captivating history.

The hotel boasts a range of accommodation options, from studios to one- and two-bedroom units, catering to both short-term visitors and long-term residents. Many units are outfitted with full kitchens and washer-dryers, ensuring all the comforts of home are at your fingertips.

Keith Menin of Gale Hospitality Group shared his excitement for the new property, stating, “With Gale Miami Hotel & Residences, we aim to redefine the benchmark for hospitality within Miami’s urban landscape. We are excited to offer an unmatched guest experience that combines the energetic ambiance of Downtown Miami with carefully curated amenities and services.”

Spanning three floors and covering 70,000 square feet, Gale Miami offers breathtaking views of Biscayne Bay and the Miami skyline. Guests can indulge in the Gale Wellness program, which includes a co-ed hammam, steam room, sauna, fitness facility, yoga lounge, and spa services. High-speed internet access, a 24-hour attended lobby, valet parking, and several dining options further enhance the guest experience. Notably, Gale Miami is one of the few downtown hotels to offer exclusive beach club access to its guests.

Dining at Gale Miami is a notable experience, featuring 9,000 square feet of restaurant space on the ground floor, including an outdoor garden, an Italian concept, and a street-front restaurant. The 9th floor offers an American steakhouse and lounge, alongside a Mediterranean-style restaurant with a retractable roof and outdoor terrace.

For event planners, the Gale Miami Conference Center on the 8th floor provides over 20,000 square feet of space, including conference rooms, breakout rooms, and a grand ballroom. Additionally, three floors of exhibition space make it one of Downtown Miami’s largest conference venues.

Situated just steps from the Kaseya Center, Port of Miami, and the Brightline station, Gale Miami Hotel & Residences is set to become a cornerstone of the city’s hospitality and residential sectors.

Developers Compete to Open Luxury Hotel at Miami International Airport

Miami International Airport may be entering a new era as two developers compete to construct a new hotel close to the busy transportation hub. The Miami International Airport Hotel, which connects to Terminal E, may soon have a rival after more than 60 years without one. To build a new hotel close to the airport, the county is now considering 50-year lease applications from FDR Miami Hotel LLC and Parmco Airport Hospitality LLC.

According to memoranda from Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, the chosen developer will be in charge of planning, constructing, financing, running, and maintaining the new hotel. A total budget of about $265 million has been proposed by FDR Miami Hotel LLC, while a budget of about $241.7 million has been offered by Parmco Airport Hospitality LLC. Each proposal has particular benefits and strengths.

The proposed Hilton hotel by Zyscovich Architects. Parmco Airport Hospitality LLC is to be credited.

Two well-known developers have submitted opposing plans for a new hotel connected to Miami International Airport. A proposal for a 451-room Westin hotel designed by Arquitectonica has been made by FDR Miami Hotel LLC, a joint venture between Fontainebleau Development LLC, directed by Jeffrey Soffer, and The Related Companies, fronted by Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross. The prestigious Westin name would be present throughout the upmarket development’s assortment of amenities, which would include meeting rooms, restaurants, and a pool. In contrast, the construction of a Hilton hotel with the famous architectural skills of Zyscovich Architects has been offered by Parmco Airport Hospitality LLC, a Miami-based development company specifically established for this project and led by developers Paul Lambert and Darryl Parmenter.

The memos estimate that during the course of the proposed 50-year lease, FDR Miami Hotel LLC will earn around $240 million in revenue for the county. The county would earn more than $20 million in rent in exchange for leasing the site to the chosen developer. The mayor’s staff emphasized the project’s potential community advantages while highlighting the financial features of FDR Miami Hotel LLC’s proposal, notably its increased rent payments.

The new hotel complex would have a pedestrian bridge connecting it to Terminal D. It would be built on a 1.8-acre property next to the Dolphin parking garage on the airport’s northeast side. The goal of this prominent position is to provide travelers with comfort and accessibility. Although the new hotel won’t take the place of the Miami International Airport Hotel, it will improve guest lodging options and expand the airport’s amenities.

The selection process for the winning plan, however, took a while. In December of last year, Mayor Levine Cava rejected all early offers and demanded a fresh round of discussions that would put the needs of employees, local employment, the environment, and the community first. After some time, the proposal from FDR Miami Hotel LLC was accepted, and on June 14 both FDR and Parmco submitted their ideas to the Aviation and Economic Development Committee of the county commission. The commission meeting set on July 18 is anticipated to produce the ultimate verdict.

To accommodate all types of travelers, from those who have lengthy layovers to business people who need conference space, the Miami International Airport has long needed more hotel rooms. There has only ever been one hotel connected to the airport, the more than 60-year-old Miami International Airport Hotel. Miami’s airport would solidify its position as a dynamic and active transportation hub with the probable addition of a new hotel.

The hotel project’s building schedule is still up in the air and dependent on funding and municipal planner permission. Unique difficulties arise when constructing an integrated hotel inside of an airport, such as strict security and safety regulations. The chosen developer will be able to design Miami’s new airport hotel, which will give tourists from all over the world access to contemporary conveniences, cozy lodgings, and first-rate service.

The opening of a new hotel at Miami International Airport will have a significant impact on the development of the airport’s economy and the hospitality industry. This project is an important step in providing travelers with the high-quality hotel options they want and in improving the overall travel experience for those taking flights into and out of Miami.

Miami River Dream Hotel Officially Approved by Voters

Voters in Miami approved a new 100-year lease for the builders of a proposed mixed-use project on the Miami River with the Dream Hotel as its anchor in a low turnout election.

The restaurant and entertainment complex Wharf Miami is currently located on a 1.5-acre city-owned site at 114 Southwest North River Drive. MV Real Estate Holdings, led by Alex Mantecon and Guillermo Vadell, and its partner Driftwood Capital, led by Carlos Rodriguez Jr., can now move forward with their plans to transform the location.

A majority of 34,745 voters approved the referendum, allowing the Miami City Commission to forgo competitive bidding and negotiate the lease with MV and Driftwood.

Voters had approved a deal in 2016 providing Riverside Wharf a 30-year lease with the possibility of two additional 10-year lease terms. MV agreed to construct a 30,000-square-foot entertainment center in exchange for paying the city a minimum of $195,000 in rent each year and spending at least $7 million to rehabilitate public space, including a new riverwalk in front of the construction.

Under the Dream brand, the joint venture plans to construct a $185 million mixed-use development anchored by a 165-key hotel. The 200,000 square-foot Riverside Wharf project, designed by John Cardello of Cube3 architects, would also have 16,000 square feet of eateries, a 12,000 square-foot event hall, a 30,000 square-foot nightclub, a rooftop day club, and 600 feet of river frontage. The new building would house Wharf Miami as a tenant.

MV and Driftwood agreed to pay 50 percent more rent than the city was expected to receive in a previous development proposal that was approved by Miami voters in 2016 in exchange for the new lease and development rights. They also agreed to raise the minimum amount of private investment from $7 million to $30 million.

According to campaign finance disclosures, the developers invested $311,000 in advertising, phone banks, and other voter turnout initiatives. The Riverside Wharf political action committee inundated voters’ mailboxes with pamphlets touting the project in the weeks running up to Tuesday’s primary election.

According to the mailers, Riverside Wharf will generate 600 new jobs and is a “state-of-the-art sea level rise program for future generations.” Before election day, there was not much opposition to the idea.

Because MV and Driftwood drastically altered the scope and size of the development that voters initially approved six years ago, the project—which never got off the ground—needed another referendum.

CitizenM Hotel in Brickell Officially Opens

On Monday, CitizenM, a hotel chain with headquarters in the Netherlands, formally unveiled CitizenM Brickell in Miami, its newest hotel, and its official opening to the public!

The 252 rooms spread over the hotel’s 20 stories with each room identical in size and design, with king beds, wall-to-wall windows, free WiFi, and streaming TVs. As a result of an Open Art Call that CitizenM held earlier this year with 70 different artists, the rooms include artwork from ten different artists, both local and international.

The hotel’s unconventional living room-style lobby welcomes visitors with furniture from Swiss designers Vitra, which is meant to evoke the feeling of being at home. Eight SocietyM meeting rooms with break-out areas are located on the third floor.

The hotel provides CanteenM, one of the brand’s hallmark eateries, which is open 24 hours a day in the lobby and serves food and beverages. The hotel also provides two terraces for guests to use, one facing S. Miami Avenue and the other facing one of the greenest gardens in the city.

Robin Chadha, CMO of CitizenM states, “We’re thrilled to be opening the first of two citizenM hotels planned in Miami this year. With Jen Stark’s striking facade artwork and the interior curated with a selection of works from artists celebrating Miami’s diverse and vivacious spirit, we are excited to be able to provide guests with an unparalleled and culturally robust experience, making this property a landmark in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood.”

The former Perricone’s building on the land started to be demolished in April 2019, and immediately after that, foundation work for the new hotel tower started.

The tower itself was designed by Concrete, a company based in Amsterdam with Gensler as the executive architect. The ground floor restaurant will feature a Negroni restaurant.

This year, CitizenM, which describes itself as an “upscale hotel” company, will eventually open another hotel in Miami at the Miami Worldcenter in late 2022. The hotel chain currently operates 27 properties across 17 locations, including London, Amsterdam, Paris, Geneva, New York, Boston, San Francisco, Taipei, and Kuala Lumpur.

Official Plans Submitted for Riverside Wharf

In December 2021, it was announced that a Miami Developer along with Driftwood Capital announced plans the rebuild The Wharf alongside the Miami River. Now, those plans have officially been submitted to Miami’s Urban Development Review Board.

The plans for this project include a hotel and an entertainment complex with retail, food, and beverage. The cost for the project is estimated at $185 million. The plans submitted include 174 hotel units operated by Dream Hotels and 91,733 square feet of commercial space.

A 16,000-square-foot restaurant, a 12,000-square-foot event hall, a 30,000-square-foot nightclub/rooftop day club, and 600 feet of river frontage are all planned for the 200,000-square-foot project. Garcia’s Fish Market may also set up shop on the property as a pop-up market. Its commercial fishing activity used to be located on the property.

The zoning requirements for this type of proposal would include 417 parking spaces but the developers are requesting a 50% reduction in parking by the entertainment and hotel spaces sharing parking. Once approved, the parking spaces will be offsite.

A part of the proposed development includes public used land, which will require a special election. That election is currently scheduled for August 23 and it will involve a potential lease of the public property to the developer.

The 1.5-acre Miami River property at 114 Southwest North River Drive will be developed by MV Real Estate Holdings and its partner, Coral Gables-based Driftwood Capital. Nitin Motwani, the managing partner of Merrimac Ventures and the developer of the Miami Worldcenter, is also a general partner in the project, according to Mantecon.

The Miami Urban Development Review Board is scheduled to review the development proposal on March 16, 2022.

Marriott and Westin Open a Dual-Branded Hotel in Brickell

In Miami’s Brickell Financial District, a dual-branded hotel with considerable commercial space has opened. Robert Finvarb Cos. and Tony Cho recently finished the AC Hotel by Marriott and Westin located in the heart of Brickell at 115 S.W. Eight Street.

The AC Hotel totals 264 rooms with 156 inspired by the Marriott and 108 rooms by the Westin that caters to longer-term guests. Also included in the hotel are 22,500 square feet of ground-floor retail, and 4,600 square feet of meeting space. Rosa Sky is the bar located on the rooftop.

Amenities:

• Pool
• Bar in lobby
• Fitness Center
• Ground floor retail
• Meeting space
• Rooftop lounge

Robert Finvarb, CEO of the Finvarb Cos stated, “We believe our dual-brand property and Rosa Sky concept will fit in well with this market, offering an enhanced guest experience.”

The ground-floor retail space is currently under contract with Metro 1. Other tenants include a speakeasy piano bar Il Piano, Silver Mirror, La Suiza Bakehouse, and Toro restaurant.

Arquitectonica designed the hotel and John Moriarty & Associates of Florida was the general contractor. AC Hotel is just one block west of Brickell City Center and the Brickell Metrorail Station. AC Hotels currently have 107 locations in North America, 12 in Central America, 90 in Europe, and 6 in Asia.

The Historic Deauville Beach Resort Miami Beach Set to be Demolished

The Deauville Beach Resort located in Miami Beach, will be finally be demolished after years of neglect and decay, the mayor of Miami Beach announced this week.

The order for demolition was delivered in a letter to the Miami Beach City Commission on Wednesday, after a report by the building’s owners concluding that the structure is hazardous to the public. An assessment was completed after the letter by the city that confirmed the results to the demolition order.

The hotel forced to close in 2017 due to an electrical fire, and it has been closed ever since.

The hotel was purchased in 2004 for only $4 million by Deauville Associates LLC, a business managed by Belinda and Richard Meruelo. For years, the 540-room hotel at 6701 Collins Avenue has been the subject of lawsuits and other disputes between the city and its owners.

According to a Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board meeting last week in which the board considered options for moving forward, the North Beach hotel has piled up fines totaling roughly $1.8 million since last year.

According to the Miami Beach’s deputy city manager, Eric Carpenter, said that the demolition process may take one to two months to complete once the permit is issued. Approval will come after the Miami-Dade County’s Department of Environmental Resources Management Department determines that the site is safe for demolition, which will include the process of asbestos removal.

Some locals have stated that the property was purposely left unattended and that there was no maintenance ever completed on the hotel.

There are currently no plans for the 3.8 acre site after the hotel is demolished but the property will no longer be considered an historic site once the hotel is removed.

The Deauville features many historic components from 1957, including a large swimming pool, hairdresser, ice skating rink, ballroom and radio station.

This historic hotel housed some of the most iconic performances ever made. The Beatles’ in 1964 on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” and Frank Sinatra. The hotel was also a spot for big names like Joan Rivers and President John F. Kennedy.

BVLGARI is Expected to Launch its First US Hotel Location in 2024 in Miami Beach

Bvlgari is known for its one-of-a-kind luxury products but that isn’t limited to its line of watches and accessories. They also have 11 branded hotels in Milan, London, and Dubai, just to name a few. With their recent expansions in Moscow and Paris, the brand has also decided to open its first location in the United States at none other than one of the hottest cities in the country, Miami Beach.

Located at 100 21st Street, the hotel will be waterfront with direct Miami beach access. The location will place Bvlgari just a few steps from the Miami Art Deco district. Bvlgari originally purchased the property for $140 million.

Because of its location, the project was recent approved by the Miami Historic Preservation Committee. Bvlgari Hotel will feature its signature Italian luxury brand while still celebrating its 1950’s style and historical significance.

The Italian architectural firm Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel will be finalizing the design and restoration of the property in the coming months. The hotel will feature 100 rooms with most of them suites, a spa, outdoor pool, fitness amenities, a restaurant by Chef Niko Romito, and a Bvlgari branded bar.

According to the CEO of Jean-Christophe Babin, “We are particularly proud to have secured such an extraordinary location for the new Bvlgari Hotel in Miami. This will be our first property in the United States which is a key market for our Brand and we are delighted to add the vibrant and glamorous Miami Beach to our Collection.”

Bvlgari Hotels & Resorts is expected to begin construction in quarter 4 of 2021 with an anticipated opening date in 2024.