The Miami Beach EDITION: Ian Schrager and Marriott Reinvent the Urban Resort for the 21st Century

. January 12, 2015

With the opening of the Miami Beach EDITION, a spectacular next-generation urban resort by Ian Schrager in partnership with Marriott International, the city not only gains a unique oceanfront complex designed for 21st century recreation, socializing, networking, and business, but also takes its next great leap into the future.

In many ways, the new EDITION represents the most important step forward for the city since the moment when Schrager's last Miami hotel, the Delano, opened in 1992—and changed everything. For decades, the great mid-20th century resort city and its hotels had slipped into stasis and decline, as the jet age allowed vacationing Americans to flock to Europe and the Caribbean in place of their old Florida standby. But in the early 1990s, Schrager sensed that something exciting and fresh was emerging in the historic Art Deco blocks of South Beach: a new population, and new kind of cultural energy. Building on that realization, he created the Delano—and suddenly Miami Beach was on the map again, the hotel's cutting-edge design and stylish atmosphere drawing sophisticated travelers back to the city for the first time in a generation. “The fundamentals were always there: the ocean, the beach, the weather, the frequent flights,” Schrager notes. “All one had to do, it seemed to me, was create something special and comfortable; it was an example of 'build it and people will come.'”

Ian Schrager will once again redefine the destination with the opening of Miami Beach and a one-of-a-kind experience that only he could create. - Arne M. Sorenson, President and CEO, Marriott International

Two decades later, the Miami Beach EDITION represents the next great seminal event in the life of the city. No longer merely a getaway spot for people seeking a break from winter, Miami has emerged in the last two decades as world-class capital, a 24-hour gateway city whose cultural scenes—in art, architecture, music, fashion, cuisine, design—now rival any of the world's urban centers, and attract people from every corner of the globe.

Above all, a tectonic shift is placing Miami at the fulcrum of 21st century culture, as the longtime cultural primacy of East and West Coasts, built in part on their ties with, respectively, Europe and Asia, is now being supplemented by the emergence of a third great “coast,” looking south, and energized by its links to the vibrant energies of Latin America—in music, fashion, art, design, food, entertainment—energies which are being funneled through Miami as nowhere else, and turning it into a new kind of global capital.

“The old 'bicoastal' cultural model,” Schrager notes, “is really now more 'tricoastal': a kind of golden triangle of New York, L.A., and Miami.” The arrival of the new EDITION, like the Delano two decades ago, will at once ratify the city's new stature—and propel its evolution even further.

Located in the Mid-Beach area—the historic “heart of Miami Beach” between South Beach and North Beach—on a three and a half-acre private enclave stretching from Collins Avenue to the ocean shoreline, the Miami Beach EDITION is not merely a hotel, but an elegantly designed, intricately interlinked complex of structures, spaces, and settings that together offer a new kind of resort environment, where every aspect of the traditional beach hotel has been re-imagined for the needs and desires of a new generation, and every thought given to enhancing a guest's stay: for vacation, for relaxation—and for work.

Two overall goals have informed the concept of the Miami Beach EDITION. The first is “one-stop shopping,” providing everything a guest could imagine—dining, nightlife, socializing, recreation, culture, work and meeting space—within the complex. Once there, in other words, one has no reason to leave.

The other goal is to draw upon and enhance the deepest traditions of glamour and sophistication of one of the world's greatest resort destinations: postwar Miami Beach—or the “Billion Dollar Sandbar,” as it was known in the 1950s. A stylish and thoughtful renovation of the landmark 1955 Seville Hotel by architect Melvin Grossman—whose “tower-on-a-pedestal” design represented a key step in the evolution of “Miami Modern” hotel architecture—the EDITION not only preserves much of the historic fabric, but evokes in its interiors the spirit of tropical elegance that defined Miami at its greatest.

This will be evident from the moment guests step into the hotel lobby, whose pristine white marble floors and polished white pearl Venetian plaster walls, highlighted with subtly variegated tones of gold and the deep green of indoor palm trees, will bring to mind such iconic gathering places as the world-famous Coconut Grove in the golden age of Hollywood. One of the few hotel lobbies in Miami Beach to offer a view of the ocean, the spirit of the space, like the hotel itself, can be summarized as “barefoot chic,” or “new tropical”: a sense of casual elegance well suited to the soft air and gentle breezes coming in from the sea, along with certain sense of informal glamour. “You might see people in golf attire, a bathing suit, a Pilates uniform, formal evening clothes, or jeans,” Schrager notes, “all comfortable, all being themselves, all connected by a certain sensibility.”

Just off the lobby, guests will find the Market—an imaginative reinvention of the classic 24-hour Miami Beach coffee shop by the Michelin star chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Offering its own street entrance on Collins Avenue and inspired by the great century-old markets of San Miguel in Madrid and La Boqueria in Barcelona, this 21st century food bazaar—part patisserie, part boulangerie, part salumeria—will offer next-generation casual gourmet fast food around the clock at a series of bustling counters; an enticing range of healthy international items—from pizza and panini to baked goods, from ceviche and tapas to shakes and smoothies—will be found on its constantly rotating menus. “Just like the great old coffee shops on Collins Avenue,” Schrager notes, “it's a place that can be your first stop of the day, and your last stop of the night.”

Over on the beach side of the hotel, meanwhile, two stylish interior spaces will evoke classic Miami Beach elegance and sophistication: the Matador Bar, a chic, elegantly designed lounge whose wide glass walls overlook the Atlantic, and the Matador Room, the hotel's main restaurant—a grandly proportioned, glamorous oval-shaped space that recalls all the excitement of Miami Beach's heyday (the kind of place, Schrager says, “one might expect to see Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers waltzing through”), where Jean-Georges will create a modern interpretation of Latin cuisine influenced by Spanish, Caribbean and South American flavors. The seasonal menu, composed of small and large plates, will utilize a bounty of the freshest Floridian ingredients.

These rooms in turn will link to the hotel's extraordinary outdoor resort area, named “Tropicale” in honor of the historic 1950s Havana nightclub that inspired it, the Tropicana. Landscaped by Madison Cox, a series of landscaped outdoor “rooms,” each with its own personality, will offer guests different kinds of experiences over the course of the day, but link together seamlessly to create a single relaxing environment— one that transforms in the evening into a magical outdoor nightclub, where couples can dance under the stars as the moon rises over the sea. Guests can enjoy a drink under a romantic pergola, or sit in the Terrace Bar overlooking the pool area, or wander a little ways—past a second, even larger landscaped pool—to find a private beach, complete with an outdoor movie screen (like a “drive-in movie theater,” Schrager notes, “but without the cars”), an outdoor fire pit, and a village of private bungalows—all arranged within a lush pastoral landscape whose handsome trees, lawns, and plantings feel more like a botanical garden than a conventional hotel. One lovely discovery will be a freestanding “Hot Shoppe” for delicious healthy snacks and shakes—an homage to the original Washington, D.C. A&W root beer stand, founded by J. Willard and Alice Marriott in 1927, from which the Hot Shoppes and eventually today's vast Marriott International arose.

The vision of a next-generation resort hotel that is also a business hotel—embodied everywhere from lobby to guest rooms—comes to a culmination in the Forum, a 10,000 square-foot amenity (among the largest of its kind in Miami Beach) that reimagines the traditional conference center and event space. Accessible both from the lobby and its own entrance on Collins Avenue, the Forum features a large daylighted reception room and landscaped exterior event space that together create a kind of indoor/outdoor “cultural park,” with gallery openings, art exhibitions, film festivals, and cultural programs not only during Miami Art Basel but year-round—along with a ballroom designed in a contemporary style that avoids the ornate chandeliers and fittings of the typical conference space. Stylish, intelligently laid-out meeting spaces—equipped with state-of-the-art A/V, projection, teleconferencing and networking—will host everything from product launches and media events to academic conferences and corporate retreats.

Downstairs, in the evenings—and late into the night—hotel guests and visitors (who can arrive through a separate street entrance) can find another world altogether: a new kind of multidimensional entertainment hub—“a sort of red-light district, but legal,” Schrager says, “for the wild at heart”—to raise to a new bar what is already (with Ibiza) one of two greatest nightlife capitals of the world. Here guests will be able to choose among a dazzling range of environments, to be experienced one at time, or together across a night. At its heart is a select and fashionable “micro-club”: a sexy, modern-day version of Schrager's legendary Studio 54, with world-class DJs, dance floor, and soundstage-quality sound and lighting systems (by Patrick Woodroffe, designer of films and concerts for Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, Beyonce and the Rolling Stones) that will transport patrons in ways they have never experienced. (“This picks up whether Studio left off,” Schrager says, “a visual riot, sensory overload, a truly serious dance club.”) Continuing to explore, guests can don customized shoes (by famed artists) to find a bowling alley and lounge—reimagined with sound, lighting, luminescent bowling balls, and midnight bowling leagues into a place of 21st century spectacle, socializing and fun. And beyond that, a truly startling, almost Alice-in-Wonderland sight: an indoor ice-skating rink, its skaters gliding to the beat of a superb sound system, its ice surface become the canvas for spectacular lighting effects, its wide windows onto the street providing a surreal, almost Daliesque sight for those driving or walking along Collins Avenue on warm evenings.

Every luxury hotel, of course, is ultimately judged by its guest rooms and its service. Miami Beach EDITION's rooms and suites will be luxurious by every standard—generous and elegant in their design, their warm wood finishes and relaxed, beach-house feel offering a “refuge,” in Schrager's words, with “everything your need and everything you want.” Embodying his deep belief that “simplicity is true luxury,” the rooms will also carry through the hotel's mission to become a place where recreation and work can blend into one comfortable whole, through features—from oversized desks to ergonometric seating to sophisticated lighting—that allow them to serve equally well as micro-workspaces as places of retreat. That contemporary approach to luxury, in turn, will inform the hotel's extraordinary service, which offers all the personalized attention one might want in a luxury hotel, but in a friendly, unpretentious, and modern way, with superb training and efficiency, but without the gold epaulettes or obsequious formalities.

In the end, few individuals have done more to put Miami Beach at the forefront of global culture than Ian Schrager, whose Delano hotel captured and compressed the excitement of a city being reborn, and propelled it into the future. Now, partnering with Marriott International for EDITION, he once again gathers in a single extraordinary place the energies of a new cultural moment for Miami and pushes it forward—providing a thrilling new direction for the city as it fully takes its place on the world stage.

ABOUT THE MIAMI BEACH EDITION

Set on a unique site on 29th Street and Collins Avenue, The Miami Beach EDITION is its own private enclave right on the beach, uniting great design and innovation with personal, friendly, modern service as well as outstanding, one-of-a-kind dining and entertainment offerings "all under one roof.” The Miami Beach EDITION features 294 guest rooms, suites and bungalows as well as a soaring penthouse; a restaurant by Michelin-starred chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten and a gourmet marketplace with a variety of food and beverages for dining in or on the go; a Lobby bar with a direct view of the ocean-the only one in Miami Beach; a full floor entertainment area complete with a bowling alley, ice-skating rink and nightclub all with a state-of-the-art sound system as well as dramatic lighting and projection effects created by world-renowned lighting designer Patrick Woodroffe; two outdoor pools with outdoor bars, personal cabanas and lounge areas; an outdoor movie theatre; 70,000 square feet of beach front and an 1,800 square foot, 24-hour state-of-the-art high performance fitness center and spa.

ABOUT IAN SCHRAGER COMPANY In 2005, Ian Schrager sold Morgans Hotel Group, a company he founded, to develop Ian Schrager Company, which currently owns, develops, manages and brands hotels, residential and mixed use projects. Since the company's foundation, Ian Schrager Company has transformed the fabled Gramercy Park Hotel in New York City and created two groundbreaking residential properties, 40 Bond and 50 Gramercy Park North. Schrager is currently developing several new hotel brands, in addition to a partnership with Marriott International on a new luxury lifestyle brand. Schrager's first brand, PUBLIC, is a new genre of hotel offering great value, great service and great style that will set a new industry standard. The first hotel, PUBLIC Chicago, debuted in October 2011 to critical acclaim. EDITION Hotels, Ian Schrager's partnership with Marriott International, combines the personal, intimate, individualized and unique lodging experience that Ian Schrager is known for with the global reach, operational expertise and scale of Marriott. There are currently EDITION hotels in London, Istanbul and Miami Beach, with plans for properties in New York City, Abu Dhabi, New Delhi, multiple cities in China, Bangkok, West Hollywood, Paris, and other cities around the world.

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