MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Pharrell Williams is taking a risk during the coronavirus pandemic. The Grammy award-winning musician and fashion designer joined the hospitality industry in Miami Beach.
“This is fruition,” the creative entrepreneur said. “This is The Goodtime Hotel.”
Pharrell and Miami’s David Grutman, who partnered to open Swan Miami in the Design District, are preparing to open a seven-story boutique hotel in South Beach. The modern structure dominates a block of Washington Avenue.
“We wanted to give our guests an opportunity to really have a community building where they could sleep, relax, recharge,” said Grutman, who co-owns several local restaurants and nightclubs including LIV at Fontainebleau and Story.
Architect Morris Adjmi designed the distinct 266-room hotel’s ivory Z-shaped building. He worked with Imperial Companies real estate developers Michael D. Fascitelli and Eric Birnbaum to extend it from 6th to 7th streets.
Raymond Jungles, a Miami-based landscape architect, softened the linear designs of the main entrance with greenery. Long hexagon-shaped chandeliers pair well with the atrium-inspired ceiling.
“Hopefully we hit you with what you see, what you taste, and with what you smell,” Birnbaum said.
Ken Fulk, a cinematic interior designer, adopted Art Deco nostalgia. He used dramatic tropical murals in the lobby and vintage chic lamps with fringes.
“Imagine it as sort of this love letter to this town,” Fulk said. “I wanted to pay tribute to Miami Beach.”
Fulk embraced a pastel palette for the hotel’s amenity areas and rooms. Shades of coral and peach tones elegantly blend with light seashell pink and a soft sandy beige. He also used different shades of mint and teal as a reminder that the ocean is only a short walk away.
“It’s a whimsical experience,” Fascitelli said. “We want it to be fun. We want it to be unique. If we create that, people will come back.”
The third-floor pool deck is part of a 30,000 square-foot club that has plenty of outdoor and indoor sitting. Guests in the cabanas can enjoy drinks and a menu from Strawberry Moon, a Mediterranean restaurant and bar that is already accepting reservations for this weekend.
Pharrell has a music studio on-site and he has plans to make sure the hotel becomes a city hot spot. He was diagnosed with synesthesia, an ability to associate colors with sounds, so the music will likely be as soothing and lively as the interior design’s color scheme.
“It’s the house,” he said. “We do what we’ve gotta do.”
The hotel, which was three years in the making, will start bookings on Thursday. They are offering locals a staycation offer. And as of Tuesday afternoon, the best price per night was $278 for the queen room.
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