Miami's hotel history goes back as far as the city itself... The arrival of the railway in 1896, the year Miami became a municipality, launched the first wave of tourists attracted by the lure of sea bathing. It was therefore only logical that the city's first hotel, the Royal Palm Hotel, should open in 1897. However, it was not until 1926 that the most sumptuous hotel was built, the craziest of them allThe Biltmore, designed by wealthy industrialist John McEntee Bowman and estate agent George Edgar Merrick in the heart of Coral Gables, a district that Merrick also founded.
With its iconic tower, the establishment was not only destined to become a hotel of splendour and magnificence, but also a mecca for fashion, glamour and sport. Today, this Leading Hotels of the World member still boasts the world's largest hotel swimming pool. Johnny Weissmuller, alias TarzanIn the past, it hosted major diving competitions. And its golf course, renovated in 2007, still attracts enthusiasts from all over the world.
Moorish or art deco decor
A veritable palazzo in Moorish and Italianate style, this 275-room hotel has welcomed many famous guests, from Al Capone to the King of Spain, Franklin D. Roosevelt to Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton to the Duchess of Windsor. It still captivates the anonymous and the stars alike, and even business travellers in search of beauty and serenity.
However, the glamour of today's Miami has moved on to a completely different district, one that was once brilliant, then fell into oblivion and is now back in the limelight: Collins Avenue, in the heart of South Beach. This long artery crossing Miami from north to south had its heyday around the 1930s, hence its nickname of the 'Art Deco District', but the decadence of the 1970s plunged it into oblivion.
The Setai, for example, with its 130 rooms housed in a brand new tower rising behind the façade of the former Dempsey-Vanderbilt Hotel, built in 1938 between the pool and the beach, has that Art Deco-inspired elegance. The same goes for the Como Metropolitan, with its photogenic 1939 façade, when it was known as the Traymore. Small in size, with nine floors and 74 rooms - almost nothing compared to the slender towers being built one after the other - it is no less grand for the refinement and intimate atmosphere it exudes.
We could also mention the Miami Beach Edition, a urban resort surrounded by lush vegetation The Betsy, the latest work by architect Allan Shulman, is as marine and warm inside as it is futuristic outside. Or the Betsy, the latest work by architect Allan Shulman, with an atmosphere as marine and warm on the inside as it is futuristic on the outside. Why not also mention the relaxed 1 Hotel South Beach, with its green wall, terrarium and rooftop on the 18th floor, offering an uninterrupted view of the ocean? Not to mention the Nobu Hotel
housed in the town's historic Eden Roc hotel.
The list could go on almost indefinitely, but suffice it to say that all these hotels are less than a decade old, sometimes even just a year or two old, to get the message across: the city's hotel industry is showing a dizzying dynamism. And the figures bear this out. With the opening of 60 hotels in five years, the number of rooms has risen from 47,642 in 2011 to 54,744 in 2016.
Vintage regeneration
This boom can be partly explained by the rehabilitation of previously neglected districts, such as the Design District and, more recently, MiMo, an acronym for Miami Modern, a district with the characteristic style of the fifties and the American Dream. In this way, one after another former motels now trendy - and often very affordable - like the New Yorker Boutique Hotel or Hotel MiMo. But the jewel in the crown is undoubtedly the Vagabond Hotel, closed for decades and reopened with great fanfare three years ago. Its period swimming pool features a languid mermaid-shaped mosaic at the bottom of the water. You can relax and admire it on vintage-style deckchairs, cocktail or laptop in hand, humming a standard by Sinatra or Sammy Davis Jr. who, it is said, used to frequent the premises. "Miami revival... You name it!
Ludovic Maisant
