Loews Miami Beach Hotel Announces Renovation

Landmark Hotel to Set New Standard for South Beach

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. November 18, 2009

November 17, 2009 - Loews Miami Beach Hotel has announced a $50 million renovation that will elevate the SouthBeach guest experience to an entirely new level. The renovation will be finished by the end of 2009 and includes completely redesigned guestrooms and bathrooms, lobby and retail spaces and the porte cochere.

Ten years ago, Loews Hotels led the transformation of SouthBeach to become the vibrant destination it is today. Jonathan Tisch, Chairman and CEO, took a major stake in the redevelopment, creating a hotel at the center of Collins Avenue that included the Art Deco St. Moritz Hotel. The opening of Loews Miami Beach Hotel set a new standard in customer service and was the first hotel in SouthBeach to cater to meeting travelers and families.

“The Loews Miami Beach Hotel set the standard for Miami when we opened ten years ago and has been a South Beach landmark ever since,” said Mr. Tisch, “We feel this ingenious hotel renovation will once again reinvent the South Beach guest experience and keep Loews Hotels in the spotlight in one of the most dynamic travel destinations in the world.”

The renovation consists of three parts -- the arrival experience, with a completely transformed lobby and porte cochere with a cascading water wall along one side; the guest experience, with a new ice cream shop and retail space; and the "living" space with new guest rooms, bathrooms and hallways. RTKL, based in Miami, FL, is handling the guestroom, bathroom and hallway redesign as well as the porte cochere. DEMA Architecture and Design of Ft. Lauderdale, FL is overseeing the lobby, retail and dining spaces. Project management services are being provided by Jonathan Nehmer & Associates in Rockville, MD.

The renovations for the 790 guestrooms and bathrooms were made to suit the needs of both the transient and group guest in mind. The hotel's Art Deco heritage is being melded with a SouthBeach flavor, using cool, soothing colors - lime greens, pale blues, mushroom grays, chocolate browns and whites. Chrome metals and clear maple were used throughout the guestrooms in the main tower building to give them a clean and modern feel. The custom headboards are hand designed and create the feeling of a mural with fabric. The fabric is a tropical art deco inspired pattern using cream, pale blue and yellow colors. Rooms in the original St. Moritz building have a similar design; however, rift cut white oak was used and the rooms retain a slightly more Art Deco feel. The bathrooms were completely rebuilt and redesigned to make them more open and extend the feel of the guest rooms. Highlights include wood framed frosted glass sliding doors to provide more space, marble tiled showers and dropped oversized sinks. Bathrooms in the suites will have upgraded amenities, including flat screen TVs embedded in the mirrors.

There have also been significant technology enhancements throughout the hotel guestrooms all chosen specifically by Managing Director, Shawn Hauver. Doorbells were installed on the outside of the guestrooms, which will indicate to housekeeping when guests would like their room cleaned or do not want to be disturbed. Motion detector sensors will alert housekeeping if someone is in the room, to ensure privacy even if a guest forgets to turn on the do not disturb button. Each room has a wired climate control device so when a guest checks in; a signal goes to the room to begin cooling it down for their arrival. The guestroom desks will have their own “business center” panel to plug in a laptop, iPod and other electronics. This device allows the TV screen to be used to play DVDs, MP3s or used as a computer screen.

Mr. Tisch had a specific vision for the lobby area - to make it more dramatic and visually appealing as well as more open and inviting for guests upon arrival and to have the retail space transcend the typical lobby sundries shop. The designers are opening up the lobby area, removing a spiral staircase that essentially separated the space into two. The space will now better allow people to enter and exit the lobby as well as create a better flow within.

To further fuse the lobby and retail space, Mr. Tisch suggested the creation of an aquarium. The 1,007 gallon, 20-foot long L-shaped aquarium will feature 57 fish of 13 different varieties as well as a Bamboo Shark, Honeycomb Eel and a small ray. All fish are collected locally and a marine biologist from Living Color Enterprises has customized the species of fish and will work closely with the team to manage the day-to-day “sea life."

The retail boutique, Splash, will feature clothing by Ike Behar, Robert Graham, Trina Turk and Lacoste, as well as more traditional toiletry and cosmetics items. There is also an ice cream shop, SoBe Scoops, with Haagen Daaz ice cream and organic flavors made onsite using ingredients from local purveyor Paradise Farms Organic.

“When the renovations are complete, we will offer a more extensive and exciting guest and meeting experience than any other hotel in South Beach,” said Mr. Tisch.

Loews Miami Beach Hotel - flaunting a “SoBe style” fusion of cosmopolitan and Art Deco influences - creates beachfront elegance for the authentically hip. Located in the “heart” of SouthBeach, the hotel showcases 790 stylish rooms and suites, a palm tree lined promenade, oceanfront sparkling pool, more than 65,000 square feet of meeting and function space, Elemis Spa and FitnessCenter and seven restaurants and bars including Sushi SoBe and the famous Emeril's Miami Beach. For reservations and information, please visit http://www.loewshotels.com/, or facebook.com/LoewsMiamiBeachHotel, or call 305-604-1601.