This year saw the opening of many significant event and meeting venues in Miami/South Florida. Here's a look at the best restaurants, party rooms, hotels, corporate event venues, conference centers, and private rooms to open in 2015. These new and renovated Miami/South Florida venues suit groups large or small for private and corporate events, business dinners, cocktail parties, conferences, weddings, and more.
The Peruvian restaurant Coya—already established in London—opened its first United States location in Brickell in February. The main dining room features Incan-inspired design as well as a central ceviche counter and robata grill that nods to the Japanese influences on the country’s cuisine. The space also has a terrace landscaped with oversize plants. In addition to the restaurant, the venue also includes a pisco bar, a members-only lounge, and a gallery of art called the Coya Collective.
The first phase of a $425 million renovation of Sun Life Stadium—home to the N.F.L.’s Miami Dolphins—finished this summer. In addition to overall upgrades like replacing every seat in the stadium, the renovation added five luxury clubs that are open during games in addition to being available for private event rental. They range from the North Club, which holds 2,640 in a reception-style setup, to the higher-end Nine space, which holds 180 for receptions. The spaces are furnished but can be cleared for events such as trade shows, fashion shows, banquets, and corporate receptions. All spaces include access to the warning track from which guests can take photos with the football field in the background. The second phase of the renovation will begin in early 2016.
The first location of the new eco-conscious hotel brand 1 Hotel opened in March. 1 Hotel South Beach, a 426-room property, opened in the former Gansevoort Hotel Miami space. The property, which is seeking LEED Silver certification, incorporates a number of sustainable elements such as energy-efficient heating and cooling systems; low-V.O.C paints, adhesives, sealants, and finishes; and reclaimed or recycled materials such as the wood used in the headboards and the pool deck. Guests will also have access to a fleet of Tesla electric vehicles for local trips. A 3,000-foot “living wall” with 11,000 local tropical plants wraps around the hotel’s exterior and contains interactive hanging terrariums and a plant laboratory from local artisans Plant the Future. The hotel has more than 100,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting and event space, including a 6,500-square-foot ballroom that holds 1,000 people for receptions or seats 700 theater-style or 460 at rounds for banquets. Another standout feature is a 26,000-square-foot rooftop lounge that includes a 112-foot-long pool. Chef Tom Colicchio will be opening three eateries at the property.
Hyde Beach Kitchen and Cocktails, a massive new oceanside entertainment venue in Hallandale Beach, opened at the end of August. The 10,000-square-foot space from SBE spans three floors. The first floor has casual dining and a spa; the second floor features a patio restaurant serving contemporary American cuisine from chef Danny Elmaleh; and the third floor has a pool and lounge, cabanas, and meeting space. The venue also has multiple full bars, a sound system, and a DJ input. The space holds 300 guests for receptions.
Inspired by the lifestyle of the classic Jimmy Buffett song, Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort opened in late September. The 349-room resort has a tropical feel, from its tiki bars to meeting rooms with cheeky names such as Continental Drifter, Fins Left, and Fins Right. The property has 30,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space, with the majority of the interior space concentrated on the ninth floor. The largest space, the 10,000-square-foot Compass Rose Ballroom, seats 850 at banquet rounds or 650 classroom-style. Other resort amenities include the 11,000-square-foot St. Somewhere Spa and the FlowRider pool, where guests can body surf and paddleboard.
Owners of the chic Bistrot Bagatelle have expanded their empire with Villa Bagatelle, a boutique hotel in South Beach that opened in June. Designed by Callin Fortis of Big Time Design Studios in a French Mediterranean style, the property has 31 guest rooms, a rooftop pool, and other amenities. For events, groups can book the Presidential Suite, which spans nearly 2,800 square feet including a balcony. It holds 50 people for receptions or banquets or seats 24 guests conference-style. The Bagatelle Garden, a landscaped courtyard, holds 150 for receptions or seats for 75 banquet-style. The 7,000-square-foot rooftop terrace holds 225 guests for receptions.
From famed Colombian chef Juan Manuel Barrientos comes Elcielo, his first restaurant in the United States following locations in Medellin and Bogota. The telegenic Barrientos—he hosts The Taste Colombia—interprets Colombian cuisine through modern techniques intended to stimulate the senses. Dishes include “Crabrûlée,” a savory take on the dessert, and a panna cotta shaped into a hard-boiled egg with a liquid passion fruit “yolk.” The sleek-looking eatery seats 60 inside and has a private dining room for 30 guests. Outside, the upper terrace seats 130, while a covered outdoor space seats 90. The lower terrace is available for receptions or as a display area large enough to showcase cars. The restaurant, located along the Miami River in Brickell, offers deep-water dockage and valet for as many as 60 cars. It opened in January.
Kuro, a Japanese restaurant, debuted at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in March. The restaurant features an open dining room overlooking the resort’s pool, as well as a chef’s table, a sushi bar, two private dining rooms, and outside seating. The entire venue seats 240. David Mexico Design Group designed the space, which includes an entrance wall comprising 100,000 seashells and chandeliers that resemble floating jellyfish.
Part of the National Register of Historic Places, Miami Beach Women’s Club opened as an event space in the Collins Park neighborhood in May. The Mediterranean Revival style venue, operated by the South Beach Hotel Group, offers 3,500 square feet indoors and 1,500 square feet outdoors and seats 80 guests banquet-style with a dance floor or 100 theater-style. Amenities include a large stage in the main room as well as in-house audiovisual equipment, rentals, a full catering kitchen, and valet.
Pelican Grand Beach Resort in Fort Lauderdale finished a multimillion-dollar renovation in September that doubled the property’s meeting and event space to 10,150 square feet. The largest indoor meeting space is the new Oceanview Ballroom, a 2,055-square-foot room that seats 100 theater-style or 45 classroom-style. The property also boasts several outdoor meeting spaces, including the Oceanview Terrace, which holds 120 for receptions or seats 100 for banquets, and the pool deck, which holds 100 for receptions or seats 80 for banquets. The renovation also added two penthouse suites that can be used for events, including one with an attached 75-foot terrace and a private dining room.
