It took 2-plus years and $90M, but finally, the Ritz-Carlton South Beach is reopening
Two and a half years after Hurricane Irma blew through Miami, the Ritz-Carlton South Beach hotel is finally reopening.
When it reopens its doors Monday, guests familiar with the hotel in its pre-storm state will recognize the lobby “bubble wall” with its back-lit bulbs and the original 1950s black terrazzo floor. But nearly everything else has changed. The hotel invested $90 million to redo all 376 guest rooms, ballrooms and meeting spaces, hallways and restaurants after the property suffered water damage in 2017.
Ritz-Carlton worked with the city of Miami Beach to renovate the historic hotel to preservation standards. Much of what’s new about the hotel now reflects the building’s past as the DiLido Hotel right on the beach at Lincoln Road and Collins Ave., designed by famed architect Morris Lapidus in 1953 before he went on to create the Fontainebleau and the Eden Roc.
“Our culinary spaces have been reimagined to honor Miami history,” said Sase Gjorsovski, general manager of the hotel. “Extensive research was conducted into the history of Miami, and what makes the city so special and unique. These features will be prevalent throughout the redesign of each of the 376 guest rooms and suites.”
Those nostalgic touches include the new first-floor bar — now dubbed the Lapidus bar, an intimate spot at the end of the long lobby; designed by New York-based Meg Sharpe Interiors, it features a sturdy marble bar and a gold chandelier made to look like lush gold leaves. The banquet and room service menus will feature takes on favorites from the now-closed Wolfie’s Jewish deli that used to sit on a nearby corner. The intricate crown molding in the guest rooms, designed by the Miami firm Hirsch Bedner Associates, is inspired by 1950s Art Deco style.
What’s new is meant to put on the ritz: Crystal dishware and light fixtures, wall coverings featuring flamingos, cafecito-colored wood accents.
“Miami is such a glamorous city,” said Cynthia Boyett, market director for the hotel. “We thought, How do we pull that into the design?”
The most significant addition is the new hotel restaurant, Fuego y Mar, featuring Latin American and Caribbean food. The eatery has light tile floors, yacht-inspired coral and blue furnishings, and doors that open the space to the poolside seating area and bar overlooking the Atlantic. A lounge with enough outlets to power a small arsenal of laptops is attached to the restaurant for guests who want to work through their meal.
The hotel took the hiatus as an opportunity to review guest feedback from 2017. One thing stood out: the guestrooms were too noisy. So it was out with the carpet, and in with the tile, backed up by sound-proof boards in the floors, walls and ceilings, said Boyett.
The fourth floor spa, renovated just before Hurricane Irma, required only light touches. That too was the case with the DiLido Beach Club, a nod to the hotel’s former name, located steps off the Miami Beach boardwalk.
To prepare for future hurricanes, the hotel now has new window seals, roof covering and rooftop equipment stands.
When the Ritz decided to close long-term in 2017, the hotel laid off 281 employees. Boyett said that the hotel was able to hire back 30% of the original staff and worked to place others in other Miami Marriott properties. The hotel is owned by Paul and Dayssi Kanavos of Flag Luxury, Alfredo and Diana Lowenstein of Lionstone Development, and Diego and Gisella Lowenstein of Lionstone Development. Marriott International manages the hotel.
Renovations are not new for this hotel. Before the Ritz and Lionstone Development remade the property in the early 2000s, the DiLido was most well known as the home of Miami Beach’s Denny’s. The owners spent $200 million and two-and-a half years to redesign the property before it opened on Dec. 31, 2003.
Ritz-Carlton has three other Miami-Dade hotels in Key Biscayne, Coconut Grove and Bal Harbour.
This story was originally published January 27, 2020 at 7:00 AM.
