Miami: Hot and Cool
3 hotels in all the right
places
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It wraps itself around you the moment you arrive: shocking tropical heat, and the flapping sounds of — palm leaves? mermaids? seagulls? models? —carried across moist, sulky, clinging, skin-temperature air. Miami and its winking companion, Miami Beach, can make a slack-jawed, putty brained, comfort seeker out of even the grimmest of Capricorns. Miami is a
big city, a wild city, a willful city, an enthralling, edgy city, an
international marketplace and leaping-off point for the cities of the
northern and southern hemispheres and the Caribbean. It dances to the
beat of a different conga drum. It’s both hedonic and corporate, graced
with historic wonder and tropical frontiers, And it is a sexy city, all
hard, high buildings zooming up out of soft, soft
waters.
Sneaky Airport Trick
There is a certain oddly
appealing hotel in Miami that every arriving or departing airport
visitor wonders about. It is as slick,
surreal, vibey, and mind-warping as the rip in space-time. Deny it
all you want to, but one of these days or nights you’re going to give in
and stay here. So on your first (or last night) in the area, cut
yourself a break and surrender to the strangely intoxicating tucked-in
anomie of sleeping inside this unforgettable airport hotel.
OK—Traveler has a fetish for
airport hotels— from minimalist cellblock rooms at Schiphol Airport in
Amsterdam to the breath-catching, post-Disney luminescence of the
Sofitel at Heathrow's Terminal Five, we admit it: Traveler sleeps best
between two worlds, at the Gateways to the Unknown. Meet the Miami International Airport Hotel, located right in the airport. When you get off the plane hallucinating and smelly from Timbuktu, you’re steps away from your little piece of heaven and a shower, and 30 seconds away from Angelo’s Hairport Barbershop & Beauty Salon, You are on level 2, Concourse E. One level below you is the International Arrivals gate, replete with hugs, yelps, and duty-frees. Two minutes is a pretty good food court, namely Level 2. Some eateries open at 5:30 am. There’s Burger King, Cafe Versailles, Chili's To Go, California Pizza Kitchen, Guava & Java, Casa Bacardi, Au Bon Pain, Cozzolis Pizza, Dunkin Donuts. and Samuel Adams. Traveler beamed up to Room 739, which is on the same floor as the fabled Top of the Port Airport restaurant (left), with its fantabulous airport view. Room service also is available 7am-11pm. Short room service hours only adds to the anomic ambiance. So do a couple of special in-room TV channels listing all domestic and international flight arrivals and departures. all day, all night. Heaven. Also on board are mouthwash, shower cap, jojoba shampoo/conditioner, a desk, magnifying mirror, coffeemaker, hairdryer, clothesline, Sony alarm clock, a jolly good strong shower, pillow topped beds, loads of pillows, writing paper, marble bathroom, and lots of electrical outlets for you to recharge your gizmos and yourself. Thanks to excellent double-glazed windows, you'll never hear an airplane.
The room is defiantly, rebelliously Aquarian—industrial carpet tiles on the floor will have to do you. The window wall is all shutters and one double glazed window, but oh, what a mind-boggling view— of pipes and ducts, and beyond, a fleet of American Airlines airplanes. There was no safe in the room (but there is a safe box at the front desk). Would Traveler stay here again? Absolutely. But those who remember the hotel’s old glory days admit there are now a few downsides..
No free WiFi or free internet computers. (There are pay computers for internet, but wouldn’t it be nicer to work from your room)? Big boo hoo: no more rooftop pool or Jacuzzi. Tragic. And sometimes (including odd hours) the hotel doesn’t give you quiet. A large touring party slamming doors and having raucous conversations as they vacated their rooms at 4 am awakened Traveler. In the morning, while still in bed, Traveler actually heard the chap in the room next door having a wee.
People arrive all day and all night at this hotel. And all they need do is go up in the elevators. Security, such as it is, does not seem obvious. Yet it is this slightly edgy, spy-who-came-in-from-the-cold, visiting space alien feeling that one yearns for every so often, a frisson of reality to remind us— we travel alone between two worlds. Traveler wants to live here - incognito, of course. For more information about Miami International Airport Hotel, call 305.871.4100 or click here.
Board the Bus, Find A Seat Without Fuss
Speaking of transit between two
worlds,
don’t overlook
Airport Express,
the new public bus from airport to South
Beach. Where to stay? Which Miami do you want first?
Say you’re in Miami on business. You want high-class, corporate, smooth, anonymous luxury, security and efficiency with a bit of a whoosh factor. Ask yourself, ‘Where would Don Draper stay?’ (Ever since Conrad Hilton —‘Connie’— turned up as a charismatic character in season 3 of AMC-TV's “Mad Men,” Traveler was intrigued by this hospitality honcho.) The Hilton chain’s Conrad division has its roots in service to business travelers —but in a dress down Friday kind of way.
Putting the Rad in the Conrad
The Miami outpost of the Hilton chain’s Conrad brand is located on Brickell Avenue in downtown-glitzy-high-rise-lots-of-banks'n'buildings-Miami. The Conrad Miami is a place of meetings, conventions, ballrooms, and wheeling and dealing execs. On weekends, families pour into the Conrad. There is something to be said
for the post modern Corporate Look. There are tried and tested semiotics
at work here — golden candles burn 24/7 in the lobby's spaces and the
spa, soothing, subtle and subliminally smellin' nice.
The Conrad Miami has most of the perks that all hifalutin' hotels have but more and better. Room safe. Two robes. DVD player. Rooftop pool and Jacuzzi. Cabanas too. And also a big hotel safe for your gold coins and tiaras. Tennis courts... and lessons. Business center? On the third floor and free internet on the 25th floor. (There's a fee for in room Internet access.) Feeling woozy? They’d love to run to the pharmacy for you. Of course the rooms have two phone lines and a phone by the toilet; but how many hotels give you swanky hotel stationery any more? Connie does. Traveler stayed in a corner room, 1716. all subtle grey-green carpet with cream walls, and a gobsmacking view of Biscayne Bay (right) with skyscrapers, all topped with swimming pools and palm trees. Nothing subtle about that. Traveler’s only criticism applies to the beauty goods in the bathroom. The bar of soap has no aroma and is no fun. The shampoo is harsh and conditioner not so hotsy. The hair dryer is heavy. Bring your own, ladies.
Pillow TalkPillow Fans, rejoice! The Conrad has a pillow menu: Let's see: The Mediflow water pillow adapts to your personal coconut with a sweet and soothing sloshing sound. It’s the best. You’ve got to try this one. The L Shape pillow. Sorry—this also is the best. You’re got to try this one. It’s like sleeping on a koala who loves you very much. Heaven! Therapeutic Pillow for back and side sleepers. Tri-Core pillow provides proper neck support for those with neck pain. The Pillow-Pedic pillow provides comfort for whiplash, neck and shoulder problems and tension headaches, made of non allergenic fibers. Wal-pil-o is not a cute little robot movie star, but is alleged to be four pillows in one. Traveler never did work this one out. Was it even in the room? And if so, what was it up to? There are other fabulous pillows, too, at the Hilton chains. And you can buy them. For more information about the Conrad Miami, call 305.503.6500 or click here
Food and Drink
The Conrad’s Level 25 is home to the Atrio restaurant (aglow in gold and russet tones and dark lacquered tables topped with goblets, goblets, goblets) surrounding the Wine Attic, a special wine room with a fantastic view of the twinkling lights of Miami. This is a bit of a power room for business and it can also easily turn romantic - ideal for all kinds of mergers, but sadly, hours are limited. The Noir Bar next door is a pleasant oasis away from the SoBe scene. Look around and you'll see a lot of deal-making. On the skinny outdoor patio high above those famous twinkling lights you'll see sweet and lonely businessmen nursing Conradtinis, admiring the view, and sulking in the balmy breezes. The bar menus and Atrio menus are fine, but for vegetarians, they are severely limited and lacking in flexibility. Happily the room service menu offers brown rice and other good for you green thingies. Is the Conrad Miami 99.9 % perfect? Yup! Pssst: there's a secret Subway sandwich (305.372.3722) shop in the building. Besides Subway, there are three places to get an inexpensive bite across the street from the hotel. Deli Lane,, Pasha’s healthy Mediterranean and next toPasha’s, Novocento a fancier Argentinean restaurant not aimed at vegetarians. Ballrooms and MeetingsExecs, mad men and women, work and play here. Over 18000 feet of meeting space is here, with 18 foot high windows and a Conrad Ballroom can all be all be yours - or your corporation's - on floors 2 and 3. This is one hell of a great grown up hotel—it's got the lot. Bring your proxies! The SpaThe Spa on 24 (left) is immaculate with a huge sauna, a Vichy shower room and a secret VIP massage room big enough for a couples massage; hell, it is big enough for a ménage a googleplex. Speaking of rubdowns, the charming and nimble-fingered licensed massage therapist Nadege is highly recommended.
Onward to SoBe...Miami is a wonderful tropical metropolis, full of adventure and playgrounds. But sometimes you want to chillax.That’s why there is a Miami Beach in general and a South Beach in particular. We love Florida, and EVERYBODY loves South Beach, from the 101 year old crinklies riding the cheap busses that go up and down Washington Avenue all day till way late to locals cradling huge red paw-paws in their arms home from the grocery stores to the mad crazed tourists of all svelte shapes and lumpy sizes, from all nations and planets, going up and down, up and down Ocean Drive, checking out the restaurants and models and being part of the wonderfully sultry, shallow, sparkly SCENE. And a scene it is, too, with striking neon art deco lettering glowing atop the little hotels, and deco store fronts and Cameron Diaz passing the plantains with friends at the local little Cuban restaurant, Puerto Sagua (700 Collins Ave, 786.623.4122), and salubrious breezes coming in off the Atlantic Ocean—-it’s aqua today, imagine!—-and the flapping palm leaves whispering in your shell-likes,reeeeelaaaaaax…..relaaaaaaaax…….. Miami Beach is a
separate city from Miami. It has its own horoscope and everything. And
South Beach has great news for sophisticated diner-outers with
city-bred, gourmet palates. Unlike most of Florida, (especially Orlando
and most of Florida's West Coast, where the horrible tasting water ruins
the flavors of meals), Miami and Miami Beach have excellent, kick-ass
food.
Wish - A Magical Restaurant
Walk
one block inland from the ocean and you’ll find
Wish,
one of the most magical restaurants in South Beach. It feels like being
on Ocean Drive— without the hustle or attitude. Wish
is affiliated with the hotel called
The Hotel.
formerly known as the Tiffany Hotel.
Out here in the sultry air, surrounded by palm trees on a soft romantic evening, lounging under teal and celadon umbrellas by a bubbling mosaic fountain, we had come to learn the secret of the illuminated ones —in this case, cocktails glowing green like kryptonite and red like rubies flying by, Flirtinis and the ne plus ultra, the Sleepless Nightini, made with van Gogh blueberry, Hpnotiq, cranberry juice, and guanera powder, lots of muddled bloobs, and grapes. After a couple of these, everybody was looking pretty muddled themselves. Corn chowder arrives for an amuse-bouche. The coffee menu includes Haitian decaffeinated and Kopi Luwak the rarest coffee in the world at $45 a pot. The bread basket comes with an enchanting dip that looks suspiciously like babaganoush but is in fact fluffy, zingy garlic/ginger/adzuki beans and avocado. Cheers to the watercress salad with blue cheese, figs, candied walnuts and sherry vinaigrette. The cress was wild and very soft, obviously organic. Ironically Wish started a decade ago as a vegetarian restaurant. But economics forced it to go the way of all flesh (except for the “all” part. In fact, Wish still understands the vegetatian sensibility.) Traveler’s entree was called “the vegetarian.” You pick out the components you wish. We chose truffled macaroni and cheese, sauteed mixed mushrooms with thyme, bok choy tempura and eggplant gratin. The mushrooms were tiny, woodsy and just right. The mac was strozzo di pretti, pixillated and puzzling and resembling melting Parcheesi pieces—or perhaps for fans of the 10th dimension, Calaubi-Yau manifolds. Look, they're Klein bottles! Look, a Möbius strip! Oh, and the cheese—four cheeses, really—is a fromage mélange of blue cheese, Fontina, Manchego, and Parmigiano-Reggiano. The desserts are the usual grandiosities fit for Librans — mousses,, crepes, melts and the required crème brulee There’s a cheese plate as well. The chef is Marco Ferraro. Remember that name. For more information, call 305-674-9474 or click here . And speaking of Wish and The Hotel, one question demands an answer.
What's The Hotel's Name?
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Left to right: The Hotel bathroom, bathrobes ( PHOTO: Courtesy Goldman Properties ) window seat, Tiffany spire |
When you
walk on Ocean Drive at night, you see lights, models, and cocktails that
glow in the dark. It’s a great way to meet women, if by “meet women” you
mean run a gauntlet of women who thrust menus in your face and beseech
you to dine in their bosses' restaurants.
The Park Central Hotel by day looks a bit louche and transient, but in a good way, with a distressed beat up elevator door and palm fans whirling lazily in all directions. It has a Tennessee Williams, loner- traveler kind of vibe. It’s not as done up, say, as The Hotel on Collins. But at night the interior is illuminated with dramatic shades of gold and orange, which turns it into a magical Lions Kingdom. Park Central is madly popular because it has a secret. It's on the ocean but it’s quiet. Walk one block up to, say, Mangos, and the high decibel level of noise at night could be insomnia-inducing – but here, you’re a big, wide block away from all that
The other great news is
you don’t need a car.
There‘s a cheap bus (25 cents), the
South Beach Local Circulator (Route 123, which
replaced the Electrowave and the Route W It runs around the entire South
Beach area; so if you’ve had a few you can get around safely. (For info
call 305.770.3131)
Miami
‘s South Beach (SOBE) scene may be every tourist’s Eurodream come true.
You’ve got casual, adequate, not always charming little hotels, service
charge added to your restaurant cheque just to make sure
sun-worshipping, badly-behaving Euros don't sneak out of tipping (many
do try to skunk the waiters and waitresses, all a part of the "we love
sun, sex, shopping, freedom, friendliness, fairness, but we don’t really
like the Americans until we go back to freezing Augsburg, or Maastricht,
or drippy old Monaco, when we’ll brag about the ‘it’ boys we danced near
at the hot club of the week.
The
Hotel, that savvy Goldman property we
just told you about above,
expanded with a soft opening near the end of
2009. The new wing—in a fine, old three-story
bulding, facing Ocean Drive—added 20 Todd Oldham designed new rooms and
suites to the site,
including two 850 sq. ft. oceanfront
terrace suites. The addition sits above the legendary News Café (see
below).
Monkey Jungle is marking the 50th birthday of its Amazonian Rainforest with a guiided "Rainforest Adventure Tour". The tour will give you a special (dare we say intimate?) look at the lives of South American monkeys. For more information, , click here.
Hotel Urbano, A new
art hotel
(visual-centric boutique hotel) opened in the Financial District (2500
Brickell Ave). Working with Miami’s Art Fusion Galleries, the 65-room
Urbano will present art exhibits on ca regular basis. For more
information, call 305.854.2070, or click
here. ..
The Mokai
(which we are told is a boite)
reopened
in March 2010. Located at 235 23rd Street, it was described by local
television news, as “Miami’s new hipster hot spot,”
Mokai with its
bright red sofas, black lacquered walls, bold-pink panels, chandeliers,
art and fashion photography is the setting for the Opium Group’s “Ransom
Monday: parties. For more information call
305.538.6337
or
click
here.
Mercadito Midtown, located at 3252 NE First Avenue, opened in early 2010. The market offers Southern Mexican style fare. Among the menu offeriongs are six varieties of guacamole, manchego cheese and wild mushroom quesadillas, and black bean hash tacos. For more information call 786.369.0430 or click here.
Despite the surfeit of fish, chickies and burgers, Yraveler found ample and sometimes even tasty vegetarian eats.
News
Café 800 Ocean Drive Tel. 305 538-6397 Open 24 hours.
Brilliant breakfast with an ocean view, very "scene". This was Versace's a.m.
newspaper-and-nosh hangout. Buy your foreign newspapers here!
When it’s time to snack, there’s Half-Moon Empanadas. Made fresh from primo ingredients, these Argentina-styled, filled pastries can be delivered to your hotel or purchased at the store (1616 Washington Ave.)
Puerto Sagua 700 Collins Avenue The real deal, black beans, rice,
fried bananas, all kinds of flans, cool, ship’s cabin rustic room, a
comforting, cosseting, low-priced Cuban cucina.
Caffé Milano Ocean Drive Excellent Italian food and beautiful indoors as well. 850 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach, FL 33139: (305) 532-0707.
South Seas a hotel on Collins. You wander in one evening, stroll down a corridor past hotel rooms and end up in a tropical Shangri-La called the Bamboo Grill. Sit in lining a deep turquoise pool. Nothing but perfect peace, the beauty of the black night sky, surprise and serendipity. All food is steamed in bamboo baskets — except maybe for the cheese plate and green salad.
Balans 1022 Lincoln Road 33139 Tel. 534-9191 This outpost of a British-owned chain (there’s also one in Brickell and one in Biscayne) includes fabulous vegetarian dishes too, like pumpkin mascarpone tortellini, wilted spinach with garlic,. Sautéed broccolini and macaroni and cheese.
ATHENS JUICE BARS
Resolved to live like a yogi and go on a hippie health fruit diet? Hah!
Good luck in food land. But if you want to try to purify, good for you.
Two beautiful Athens locations will help,1214 Washington Avenue (tel.
305 672 4648) and up on 6976 Collins Avenue (Tel 305 861 2143), where
they live the trip and will make you smoothies, too, and sell you
paw-paws to take with you and slurp on the beach.
Near the Collins Avenue Athens Juice Bar is Café Prima Pasta at 414 71st Street with a mixture of A+ and no worse than B- Italian dishes, probably the best pick in the area. Try their eggplant rollatini.
QUICK CONTACTS
Miami International Airport Hotel,
Atrio restaurant
Deli Lane
Pasha’s
Novocento
Wish
Compass Café/span>
Airport Express,
South Beach Local Circulator Route 123
Miami Seaquarium
Monkey Jungle