Here's a look at new Miami/South Florida hotels, conference centers, restaurants, private rooms, and other spaces to open for events this fall. The new and renovated Miami/South Florida venues are available for corporate parties, weddings, fund-raisers, outdoor functions, business dinners, teambuilding activities, conferences, meetings, and more.
The Deck at Island Gardens, an outdoor lounge that plans to officially open in October, is the latest addition to Island Gardens Deep Harbour, an expansive yacht marina that debuted in January on Miami’s Watson Island. Guests can arrive by land or by boat. Nightlife entrepreneurs Michael Capponi and Eric Milon were tasked with overseeing the venue, which has panoramic views of Biscayne Bay and downtown Miami. It accommodates 600 guests spread across tables and cabanas, with flexible furniture arrangements. Buyouts are available for private events, even ahead of the official opening.
Private Key, which opened in June, is a 14,000-square-foot warehouse venue for meetings and events. There are two event spaces; an enclosed patio area; and four private lounge suites, and when used together the space holds 1,500 guests for reception-style events. The indoor event rooms each measure 5,000 square feet and each hold 700 for receptions or seated events for 445. The Gallery space has white walls and minimalist decor while the Club features a 270-degree projection mapping system. There is also a 4,000-square-foot-garden with cabanas, bench seating, and mobile bars for receptions of 400 guests. The venue also has state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment for concerts or other live performances.
South Beach nightlife veterans Dana Dwyer, Ryan Van Milligen, and Greg See (the team behind the venues SET and Mynt) conceptualized the nightclub Ora, which is scheduled to open in August. Designed by Francois Frossard, the venue has touches of old European charm, such as classic coupé champagne glasses and boiserie paneling. At more than 10,000 square feet, it will accommodate 680 for cocktails or seat about 250 guests. The Social Room at Ora, a separate 1,500-square-foot space on the club’s top floor, holds about 150 for receptions or seats 75.
ME by Meliá opened its first U.S. hotel in July in downtown Miami. The property has 129 guest rooms and more than 14,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space. On the 14th floor, the Sun Deck with pools and a bar and lounge are slated to open in late summer. The hotel will also be home to STK restaurant, the steak house concept from the One Group, which will seat 278 or hold 450 for receptions.Â
Cinemex, the Mexico City-based movie-theater chain that offers restaurant-style dining, is opening its first U.S. location in November at Brickell City Centre. The 35,677-square-foot cineplex will have oversize leather chairs in its 11 screening rooms, which have theater-style seating for as many as 622 people. Mexico-based culinary experts Mikel Alonso (chef of the Biko restaurant) and mixologist Mica Rousseau will oversee the venue’s dining experience, while Miami-based Loguer Design handled the architecture. The theater's exterior has a giant LED screen with animated content that simulates a theater curtain, also known as a telón. The telón also serves as part of Brickell City Centre's Climate Ribbon that will span 150,000 square feet of the development and will represent sustainability and climate management by capturing sea breezes and collecting rainwater for re-use.
LT Steak & Seafood, an American restaurant located inside the Betsy South Beach, opened in June as a replacement for the hotel's BLT Steak restaurant. The 1,998 square-foot eatery, which has more sophisticated decor than its predecessor, is overseen by former BLT Steak chef Laurent Tourondel, and seats 120 guests. A private dining room seats as many 40 people. The restaurant is available for buyouts.
Pisco y Nazca Ceviche Gastrobar opened in June at the Shops at Downtown Doral. The Peruvian restaurant, which also has a location in Miami's Kendall neighborhood, is a 5,500-square-foot venue with a 1,500-square-foot patio. It provides a casual atmosphere with decor inspired by the textures and colors of Peru’s landscape. The main dining space, which has an open view of the kitchen, seats 160, while an open outdoor dining area seats 90. The restaurant has two private dining rooms, each with seating for 20 people. They can be combined to seat 40 or hold 80 for receptions.
W Miami, formerly the Viceroy Miami hotel, opened in June in downtown Miami as the centerpiece of the 10-acre bayfront Icon Brickell mixed-use development. Located across the street from Brickell City Centre, the 148-room hotel will undergo a renovation to create the W Living Room overlooking Biscayne Bay on the hotel's 15th floor. In addition, the rooftop on the 50th floor will be transformed into a cocktail lounge and WET deck, the brand's signature pool space. There are six meeting spaces; the largest space totals 2,666 square feet with flexible seating capacity of 150 people.
In May, Bulla Gastrobar opened its second Florida location at the Shops at Downtown Doral. The Spanish concept, which also has a location in Coral Gables, is a 5,500 square-foot restaurant and bar that seats 150 guests, including a balcony that can seat 30 and a wraparound patio that can seat 54. There are two private rooms that can each seat 24 people or can be combined for 50 seated guests. The venue offers a modern take on Spanish tapas, a selection of wines, and cuisine served with options of small or large dishes.
Prime Cigar & Whiskey Bar, which opened its first location in Boca Raton, expanded to Miami in May with the launch of Casa De Montecristo. Located inside Brickell's newly built 1100 Millecento residential tower, the 4,700-square-foot bar/lounge has a state-of-the-art air control system that provides 80 tons of constant air conditioning. The venue has a walk-in humidor, a bar featuring rare whiskeys, members' lounge, private boardroom, and a "vintage collector's room" for cigars. For buyouts, the venue seats 75 guests or holds 116 for reception-style events. The bar's two private spaces are the members' lounge, which seats 10 or holds 25 for receptions) and the boardroom, which seats six or holds 20 for receptions. The lounge does not serve food but allows outside catering.
