Let's Get Luxe

If Miami were Olympus, luxury hotels would be our Titans. These gigantes rule 305 culture, and enjoying their amenities is like taking an elevator to the top floor of Miami’s social ladder. But even higher are the architects behind them, such as Schultze & Weaver, which famously designed New York’s...

By Amanda McCorquodale

September 30, 2010

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If Miami were Olympus, luxury hotels would be our Titans. These gigantes rule 305 culture, and enjoying their amenities is like taking an elevator to the top floor of Miami’s social ladder. But even higher are the architects behind them, such as Schultze & Weaver, which famously designed New York’s Waldorf-Astoria. The duo also designed Coral Gables’s iconic Biltmore Hotel, complete with sunken courtyards, open loggias, and Renaissance-esque porticos. Working with Carl Fisher, the firm built Miami’s now-defunct Nautilus and Flamingo hotels. Perhaps it’s best these places shut down, though, because Fisher insisted the hotels’ gondolas be steered by shirtless black Bahamians blinged out in live crustacean jewelry. The Wolfsonian recently opened “The Grand Hotels of Schultze & Weaver,” an exhibit featuring the firm’s renderings, floor plans, drawings, and photos. The exhibition opens in tandem with “Unrealized Architecture,” showcasing the architectural work of masters such as Frank Lloyd Wright. Admission is $7 for adults; $5 for seniors, students, and children; and free for members. The Wolfsonian opens at noon every day except Wednesday, when the museum is closed. Call 305-531-1001 or visit wolfsonian.org.
Mon., Oct. 11, noon, 2010

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