The Fontainebleau Miami Beach (FB) hotel is on Collins Avenue in Florida, US. It is spread across 22 oceanfront acres and has 1,504 rooms.
The hotel also has 11 restaurants and nightclubs, including three signature restaurants, a 40,000ft² spa and a pool area with private cabanas.
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The hotel underwent a $1bn refurbishment in 2008, including the building of a luxury tower with 286 suites. The first phase of refurbishment included building a 37-storey luxury tower at the south end, with 402 one and two-bedroom suites.
The tower includes a 4,300ft² penthouse. The renovation works also included building a new poolscape.
Construction was undertaken by Coscan Construction, a general contractor based in Florida. The hotel is owned by Fontainebleau Resorts and operated by Nakheel Hotels.
Development
Built in 1954 by the hotelier Ben Novack, FB was managed by the hotel chain Hilton until it was acquired by the developer Steve Muss in 1982. Muss built the 36-storey tower located in the north end.
FB is now owned by the resort-hotel company Fontainebleau Resorts (FB resorts), and Nakheel Hotels, a UAE-based developer. Fontainebleau Resorts was started by Turnberry Associates and the Plant family in 2005, he same year the company acquired the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach.
Australian gaming and entertainment company Crown Limited purchased a 19.6% stake for $250m in 2007.
Accommodation
Fontainebleau Miami Beach hotel has four towers, which house 1,504 guest rooms and suites in total. Accommodation is available in five categories – guest rooms, junior suites, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and specialty suites.
The towers Versailles, with 307 rooms, and Chateau, with 539 rooms, are located in the old building. Together the towers comprise 846 rooms and 85 suites.
The two new luxury towers, the 37-storey Trésor and the 18-storey Sorrento have 402 and 256 suites respectively. The Fontainebleau hotel has 743 suites in total, with a beach view of the Atlantic Ocean, Biscayne Bay, Downtown Miami or South Beach.
In-room amenities
One-bedroom suites in Tresor and Sorrento each cover an area of 1,000ft² or 1,122ft² respectively. All Tresor suites have a furnished balcony, a Jacuzzi and an in-room safe.
Sorrento suites have one bedroom and a large, furnished balcony. In-room amenities include one king or two queen-size beds, a queen sleeper sofa, LCD flat-screen televisions, internet access, clock radios and a fully equipped kitchen.
Sorrento suites also have a marble bath with granite counter tops, Jacuzzi tub and separate glass-enclosed shower.
Dining and bar facilities
Fontainebleau has 11 new restaurants and bars, with three restaurants operated by internationally acclaimed chefs.
The Scarpetta Italian restaurant, operated by master chef Scott Conant, is in the Sorrento tower and has a seating capacity of 360.
Gotham Steak is a two-storey steakhouse on the lobby level, with a seating capacity of 170. The restaurant overlooks the pool and outdoor premises. Alfred Portale operates the steakhouse.
Hakkasan serves Cantonese cuisine and is situated atop the hotel’s spa building. The restaurant has a seating capacity of 175 and is operated by master chef Alan Yau.
Vida is designed as an American coffee shop. It has a seating capacity of 225 and offers three-course meals from an à la carte menu with options for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Vida has a fully equipped kitchen complete with rotisserie, hearth ovens and a pastry station.
The hotel also has a coffee bar named Solo and an eatery called Fresh. La cote and Glow are the two pool bars, while Bleau bar is a regular hotel bar.
La cote is a bar and grill with a seating capacity of 350. The bar has a second-floor veranda and serves a range of cocktails, sangria and beverages. The pool bar and grill provides appetisers, grilled seafood and a host of desserts.
Blade and Liv are the two nightclubs at the hotel. Blade is spread over an area of 24,000ft², has a Sushi bar and offers Japanese food. Liv features a pool area with secluded cabanas.
Meeting facilities
The Luster gallerie / sparkle pre-function space has a combined total of 200,000 ft2 of pre-function, meeting and outdoor space available to guests.
The area includes 107,000ft² of meeting space, a 42,000ft² pre-function area and 51,000ft² of outdoor function space. Three ballrooms are available, covering an area of 66,000ft². The largest ballroom covers an area of 33,630ft².
The meeting centre is spread across an area of 18,980ft². There are also 58 boardrooms, two of which are permanent.
The spa
Fontainebleau’s spa is named the LAPIS® SPA and is designed by Richardson Sadeki. The spa is located in a two-storey building covering an area of 40,000ft². The spa house has 30 rooms and a fitness centre. Enclosed within the spa is a lap pool and a lounge area.
The Lapis spa provides a range of salon and hair treatments, as well as uses mineral-rich water. Designated lockers rooms are available. Lapis draws upon thermal therapies and uses the latest technology to provide guests with rejuvenation programmes.
There is also a retail centre with two outlets operating at the spa. The main outlet offers natural and spa products. The second outlet, Salon Retail, offers the skincare products incorporated in the treatments offered at the Lapis spa. The shop also sells make-up, nail polish, and hair products and accessories.
Recreational facilities
FB has three pool areas. The main pool is shaped like the architect Lapidus’ signature bow-tie design. There is also a private pool called Oasis. A play area and 30 luxury cabanas are also available for the hotel’s guests.
For younger guests there are supervised activities under the FB Kids programme. Beach and watersports activities, including use of catamarans, windsurfing, kayaks and other water toys are also available, as are deep-sea fishing and sailing charters.
Other recreational activities featured at the hotel include golf, tennis, theatre, boardwalk, the American Airlines Arena, the Miami Children’s Museum and Jungle Island.
The hotel houses several retail outlets, including a boutique with designer wear. Ida and Harry in the main lobby offers fashion wear. The Aquamarine store located in the lower level corridor sells casual beachwear. Morris & Co, in the lobby, offers branded FB apparel.
Design
The Fountainebleu Miami Beach hotel is known for its emblematic curvilinear architecture. As part of the renovation works, the lobby area and other sections of the hotel were transformed.
The public space, lobby, front desk, pool area and restaurant were designed by Jeffrey Beers International. Public spaces, the front desk and lobby lighting were also designed by the artist James Turrell. The pool and landscape were designed by Lifescapes International. The guest room and meeting space interior design is by Wilson and Associates, which received the prestigious American Hotel and Motel Association’s Gold Key Award for excellence in hotel design.
Branding was undertaken by Arnell Group, a leading design company. The Italian Scarpetta restaurant was designed by David Collins Studio, an interior architecture firm. Cantonese restaurant Hakkasan was designed by interior designers Gilles & Boissier.
Awards
The hotel won several awards in 2009. In June 2009, it was listed among Travel + Leisure magazine’s ‘It List’ of the 45 best new hotels around the world. Men’s Journal magazine voted it the best beach hotel in June 2009.
The hotel was cited in several travel publications, including Fodor’s Hot List (January 2009) and Condé Nast Traveler magazine’s hot list (May 2009). It was also acknowledged in Hot Spas (May 2009).
The hotel also received Miami Herald newspaper’s 2009 reader’s choice awards in various categories, including best hotel bar (for Bleau Bar), best hotel restaurant (for Scarpetta), best beachfront resort, best party scene and savviest design among others.
