July 2008 | Miami Beach | By D. Fran Morley
Miami Beach Landmark Re-Emerges This Fall
Site Visit By D. Fran Morley
In the 1950s, the Eden Roc was a big part of what made Miami Beach a chic, happening place. Celebrities like Frank Sinatra and his Rat Pack pals "holidayed" at the Eden Roc, turning Miami Beach into a hot vacation spot for the rich and famous—as well as the rest of us. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez were regulars at the Eden Roc, and when they took "I Love Lucy" to Miami, it was, simply, the place to be. Now, the Eden Roc, a Renaissance Beach Resort and Spa is "the place to be again," said Saun Lightbourne, director of marketing.
I joined a group of journalists on a recent hard hat tour of the resort to check on its renovation progress. We saw how original design elements are being incorporated into the new lobby and lobby bar, looked into a few of the elegantly redesigned guest rooms (what would Lucy and Ethel make of the iPod docking stations?), and took a construction elevator up to the unfinished rooftop ballrooms for spectacular ocean views. After nearly two years and $180 million, the "bold new" Eden Roc is set to reopen this October.
Today's architects have paid careful attention to historic design elements while adding everything contemporary travelers expect. The new 283-room Ocean Tower brings new meeting space and nearly doubles the overall size of the resort. The new Eden Roc will have 631 oversized guest rooms and suites, 90,000 square feet of meeting space (including spectacular roof top rooms that were never part of the original hotel's event space), a 21,000-square-foot spa, a fitness center, and newly designed pools, water features and gardens that will link the resort to its surf-side location.
Across the street, at Eden Roc's private marina, our group boarded the luxurious, 111-foot
Biscayne Lady, the flagship of Biscayne Lady Yacht Charters, for a sunset cruise along the Intracoastal Waterway. We supped and sipped while ogling the homes of the rich and famous along Millionaire's Row.
