Here's a look at new Miami/South Florida hotels, conference centers, restaurants, private rooms, and other spaces to open for events this spring. The new and renovated Miami/South Florida venues are available for conferences, meetings, corporate parties, weddings, fund-raisers, outdoor functions, business dinners, teambuilding activities, and more.
The Event Space at 1306 opened in January as an independent event venue in the Park West neighborhood near downtown Miami. The 4,000-square-foot venue comprises an indoor space with white gallery walls and 15-foot vaulted ceilings, as well as a large garden courtyard. It holds 400 for reception-style gatherings but also is available for photo shoots, product launches, and other corporate events. The venue can provide in-house sound and lighting, bar service, security, valet, and event management. It is attached to sister venue the Bar at 1306.
The luxury Faena Hotel Miami Beach opened in December in the former Saxony Hotel. The 169-room hotel’s theatrical design concept was envisioned by film director Baz Luhrmann and costume designer Catherine Martin and updates the hotel’s original Art Deco style. Among the event spaces are the 3,000-square-foot Faena Theater, which seats 125 or can be configured to hold 118 for seated dinners or 200 for receptions; its mezzanine seats 60 theater-style or for dinner or holds 100 for receptions. For outdoor events, there is the pool deck, which holds 200 for receptions, and for more privacy, the Asado Pit, which holds 75. The property also features a South American-inspired spa and the restaurants Los Fuegos from chef Francis Mallmann and Pao by Paul Qui, the chef’s first restaurant outside of Texas. The hotel is part of a development dubbed Faena District that will include the boutique hotel Casa Claridge’s, a retail space called Faena Bazaar, two condominium towers, and the Rem Koolhaas-designed Faena Forum, an arts and culture hub set to open in the fall. The forum will have multiple meeting spaces, including a hall that will hold 745 guests for receptions.
Hilton West Palm Beach became the first hotel in South Florida connected to a convention center when it opened in January. The 400-room hotel, attached to the Palm Beach County Convention Center, offers 24,000 square feet of meeting space including the 13,000-square-foot Oceana Ballroom, which is the largest hotel ballroom in the county. For outdoor events, there is a resort-style pool with a deck for receptions and three event lawns: two that each measure 2,400 square feet and can be used together, as well as a 4,000-square-foot lawn in the front of the hotel.
The Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale renovated and expanded its spa, which includes ESPA products and treatments. Now 8,500 square feet, the spa features a new steam room, sauna, and full-service salon, along with 11 treatment rooms and Jacuzzis on the seventh-floor pool deck. It also encompasses the fitness center, which has equipment from Technogym. New York-based Dash Design redesigned the space using oceanfront hues of aqua and green and marble and mosaic tiles in the wet areas. The spa hosts private groups, including bridal parties.
For fitness devotees, SoulCycle South Beach opened December 30 in Miami Beach. It’s the New York-based spinning studio’s second location in South Florida and offers 54 bikes in the 2,600-square-foot space. Other amenities include men’s and women’s locker rooms that include showers, as well as a boutique with SoulCycle merchandise.
Sofitel Miami converted to Pullman Miami Airport hotel in late November, the first location of the Pullman brand to open in North America. Pullman, from French hospitality company AccorHotels, is an upscale brand and plans to open in other United States markets. The 281-room Miami property is undergoing a renovation slated to finish this spring and will have 11,000 square feet of meeting and event space. Its Monte Carlo Ballroom will seat 600 theater-style or 380 banquet-style.
As part of a multimillion-dollar renovation finished in December, the Marseilles Hotel South Beach updated its 112 guest rooms as well as added meeting space. The hotel’s largest space is a 2,000-square-foot ballroom with an adjoining 800-square-foot rear deck. The space, which overlooks the pool, seats 70 guests for theater-style events or holds 85 guests for cocktail receptions. For outdoor receptions, the hotel offers a main pool deck for 100 guests, the Backyard Green for 150, and a rear pool deck for 45.
The Marlin Hotel, a boutique property in Miami Beach, completed the first phase of a multimillion-dollar renovation in December. Under owner MRK Collection, the Art Deco-style hotel now has 14 redesigned rooms, and later this year plans to expand the room total to 32 rooms and add a rooftop pool. The hotel is also home to Bází Restaurant and Lounge, an Asian-inspired restaurant from chef Michael Pirolo, which offers private dining on the mezzanine level. For buyouts, it seats 50 for dinner or holds 100 for cocktail receptions.
The restaurant Beaker & Gray—named after a bartender’s beaker and the Gray Kunz spoon used by chefs—opened in December in Wynwood. The 3,600-square-foot restaurant has a 75-seat main dining room, a 13-seat marble bar, and outdoor seating on the balcony.
Diners at the new restaurant Burlock Coast Seafare & Spirits have views of the Atlantic Ocean. Located at the Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale, the eatery and marketplace with grab-and-go dishes opened in November and serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner as well as an array of house-made desserts and a craft cocktail program. The space features an indoor-outdoor bar and private dining for groups of as many as 36. The restaurant is available for partial or full buyout for about 100 guests. Chef de cuisine Gavin Pera’s wide-ranging menu features locally sourced fish, meats, and vegetables.
