Travel and Tourism Sector

Look Who's Third World Now

Naked Candy Thrower Brings His Design Aesthetic To South Beach

Bon Voyage!

The Ships Hit the Fan

Corri Barrs says there's something you should know about the garbage that's washing up on the shores of Matheson Hammock

The Man with the Biodegradable Balls

Patrick Kane has a fish-friendly formula for people who hanker to swat golf balls into the deep blue sea

The House That Curtiss Built

A unique mansion built by an aviation legend sits in disrepair. Miami Springs officials sit scratching their heads. The wrecking ball sits nearby.

Bayside Marketplace for Sale

Bayside Marketplace -- a place we've been to once, because our best friend used a Chili's gift certificate from her grandma there -- is up for sale. The owner, General Growth Properties, is in a superbad financial situation (who isn't?) and has decided Bayside doesn't fit into its core niche of ... More >>

Miami Makeover

Tropical paradise or violent hellhole? If you ask the wizards selected to design the city's publicity campaign, the answer is as clear as a bright summer day.

You Know What The World Needs More Of? Luxury Hotels!

via PR NewswireWe know Paris Hilton doesn't have anything to do with the management of the hotel company that bears her family name, but sometimes you have to wonder. In the midst of the latest, greatest depression and economic free fall you might expect any new hotel plans to include cots, a soup k ... More >>

Val Screen Vies for Commissioner Audrey Edmonson's Seat

via PR NewswireWe know Paris Hilton doesn't have anything to do with the management of the hotel company that bears her family name, but sometimes you have to wonder. In the midst of the latest, greatest depression and economic free fall you might expect any new hotel plans to include cots, a soup k ... More >>

The Boat to Perdition

Will 2006 prove friendlier for the casino cruise business?

The Luxe Life

As the Great Hotel War of 2006 looms, South Beach's Delano tries a new tack: Magic

It's Not All Glamour and Glitz

As the Great Hotel War of 2006 looms, South Beach's Delano tries a new tack: Magic

BEST NIGHTCLUB DISGUISED AS A HOTEL

The Ritz-Carlton's DiLido Beach Club

A Cabbie's Crusade

Javier Peña is a maverick cabbie on a mission to turn the notorious Miami taxi industry into a respectable profession. So far he's been threatened, shot at, fined, and fired. In other words, he's making progress.

BEST ART CHAT

Pillow Talk

Beach House Bal Harbour

Letters to the Editor

Letters from the issue of February 10, 2000

DeFede

The Real Micky Arison

The Deep Blue Greed

The Arison clan built Carnival into a money machine by cleverly avoiding tax laws

Miami: See It Like a Pampered, Sheltered, Spoiled-Rotten Tour Operator from Munich

Highlights from Pow Wow, a multimillion-dollar exercise in insulated extravagance

There Oughta Be a Law!

Micky Arison and other cruise industry bigwigs are pushing Congress to ship potential lawsuits overseas

Cruise Ship Singer Laurie Miller From Expose Gets Free Plastic Surgery

Back in May Crossfade told you about Laurie Miller, original member of the superstar girl group Expose, who brought the world hits like "Point Of No Return."We also found her website which details her current life as a performer and talks about her experience in the cruise ship industry. If you ha ... More >>

Kourtney and Khloe Really, Really Excited to Be in Miami

Despite E!'s best attempts to create programming that leaves viewers' near brain dead, this preview clip for Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami got us thinking. Why are they so damn happy to be in Miami? The 40-second clip basically consists of the sisters running around going, "OMG, We're in Miami!" Th ... More >>

Fancy Vending Machine Board Shorts Include Hidden Scavenger Hunt

​Does that headline make any sense to you? We're feeling a touch of the surreal today, so we went with that over "Standard Hotels Teams with Quicksilver," which is indeed what this is all about. André Balazs' Standard boutique hotel chain teamed up with Quicksilver, titan of the ma ... More >>

Morgans Hotel Group Food and Beverage Revenue Drops Over 25% - South Beach Is Hurting Too

via wikimedia commonsMarket Crash​It used to be that people rented a hotel room, ate dinner, got drunk and screwed. Now that people have gone back to doing that at home, it's the hotels that are getting screwed.Morgans Hotel Group Co. owns or has an ownership interest in properties around the worl ... More >>

Tourists Really Are Dumb

Tourists complain Miamians are rude. Locals complain tourists are dumb. So it goes. We'll readily admit to being rude at times, but it's time for tourists to admit they're a bit clueless. William Hageman recently rounded up the dumbest questions tourism professionals have ever been asked. Obviously, ... More >>

Silicon Beach: Tripatini Connects Travelers

Tripatini is international in scope but was founded here in the 305.​Tripatini, founded last year in March by Miamians Jose Balido and Dave Appell, is a unique social networking site for travelers. The website launched in late August and was dubbed "Facebook for travelers" by the New York Post. Si ... More >>

Panty Problem: Howard Stern Sidekick Sues Miami Beach Holiday Inn

via Elegant Elliot Offen.Elegant Elliot Howard Stern sidekick and self-described "topnotch, prime-time, center-stage celebrity" Elegant Elliot Offen runs 14 miles a day in ladies' lingerie. In New York, he swears, people on the street cheer and salivate over his bodacious curves. "You won't see a se ... More >>

Elegant Elliot Offen had the bustier, Holiday Inn gave him the boot

via Elegant Elliot Offen.Elegant Elliot Howard Stern sidekick and self-described "topnotch, prime-time, center-stage celebrity" Elegant Elliot Offen runs 14 miles a day in ladies' lingerie. In New York, he swears, people on the street cheer and salivate over his bodacious curves. "You won't see a se ... More >>

Fontainebleau Miami Hasn't Made a Loan Payment Since September, Looking to Restructure Debt

​The owners of the Fontainebleau Miami Beach borrowed about $620 million to complete its recent $1 billion makeover, but according to Business Week, they haven't made payments on any of the loans since September. Now BW says they're offering a restructuring plan to lenders. Yes, yet another Miami ... More >>

Cuba Readies for American Tourists With 200,000 New Hotel Rooms and Ten Golf Courses

​"The gringos can't help but spend their money. They are the easiest tourists to sell to. They never ask for discounts," Daniel Garcia, a used book seller who hawks his inventory to tourists on the streets of Old Havana, tells Bloomberg news. He's not the only person in Cuba hoping that a potentia ... More >>

The Biltmore Owes $2.4 Million in Back Rent to Coral Gables

via Milan.Boer's Flickr/cc2.0The palm lined entrance to the Biltmore​Are there any iconic Miami hotels that aren't having some sort of financial trouble at the moment? How about the historic Biltmore in Coral Gables? That's probably doing good, right? Oh, wait, the management companys owes the cit ... More >>

Miami Tourism Chief on Oil Spill: Don't Worry, Be Happy

Bill Talbert​Even if experts warn that oil could already be off the coast of Miami and a University of Central Florida study estimates that the Gulf disaster could end up costing Florida $11 billion in lost tourism spending and 200,000 jobs, Bill Talbert, president of the Greater Miami Convention ... More >>

Ballroom Brouhaha

Bill Talbert​Even if experts warn that oil could already be off the coast of Miami and a University of Central Florida study estimates that the Gulf disaster could end up costing Florida $11 billion in lost tourism spending and 200,000 jobs, Bill Talbert, president of the Greater Miami Convention ... More >>

Man Dies After Eating Cruise Ship Food

​In today's surprisingly light roundup of horrible things and various crimes that happened over the weekend in our fair metropolis: The Epic cruise ship is forced back to the Port of Miami after a man dies after eating food, a greyhound bus is attacked by a gunman, and the city's bond status ... More >>

Travel Deal: Fly to NYC and Freeze Your Ass Off for Only $79

​Tourism officials in both New York City and Miami announced today a joint promotion to encourage travel between the two cities. In conjunction with American Airlines, flights during certain dates this winter will cost only $79 each way. That's a decent, if not exactly unbelievable deal, but we ca ... More >>

Jesse Marco and Random Mondays at Mokai, January 17

DJ-producer Jesse Marco.​Jesse Marco Ransom Mondays Monday, January 17, 2011 Mokai Better than: Another trip to the airport. Ransom Mondays at Mokai are supposed to be "industry" parties. That refers to the hospitality industry: bartenders, concierges, waiters, etc. It would seem, though, that t ... More >>

Food Star Stalking with Holland America's Rudi Sodamin

Photo by Riki AltmanMaster Chef Rudi Sodamin (foreground) with Chefs Jacques Torres (far left), David Burke (left), and Charlie Trotter (far right)Holland America invited Short Order aboard the ms Noordam a few weeks ago to meet its new Culinary Council. We nearly plotzed after discovering that mean ... More >>

Brunch It

Photo by Riki AltmanMaster Chef Rudi Sodamin (foreground) with Chefs Jacques Torres (far left), David Burke (left), and Charlie Trotter (far right)Holland America invited Short Order aboard the ms Noordam a few weeks ago to meet its new Culinary Council. We nearly plotzed after discovering that mean ... More >>

Nikki Beach exec and Turks & Caicos leader accused in rape scandal

Photo by Riki AltmanMaster Chef Rudi Sodamin (foreground) with Chefs Jacques Torres (far left), David Burke (left), and Charlie Trotter (far right)Holland America invited Short Order aboard the ms Noordam a few weeks ago to meet its new Culinary Council. We nearly plotzed after discovering that mean ... More >>

Carnival cruise ships have sewage problems, say passengers

Photo by Riki AltmanMaster Chef Rudi Sodamin (foreground) with Chefs Jacques Torres (far left), David Burke (left), and Charlie Trotter (far right)Holland America invited Short Order aboard the ms Noordam a few weeks ago to meet its new Culinary Council. We nearly plotzed after discovering that mean ... More >>

Free Cookies at Cocowalk: Check out the DoubleTree Cookie CAREavan

Courtesy DoubleTree by Hilton​Move over Ben & Jerry's: there's a new dessert truck tour in town (if only for a day).The Hilton's DoubleTree Hotel is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its signature chocolate chip cookie by going on the road with the DoubleTree by Hilton Cookie CAREavan.  ... More >>

Raleigh Hotel to Undergo $20-Million Makeover

​The Raleigh Hotel already has an air of unfussy chic that's unique in South Beach, but in this town everyone needs an occasional nip and tuck to stay looking good. Signaling yet another financial move to indicate tourism is back in business after a recession-blamed bump, the hotel has secured a $ ... More >>

Guy Fieri Partners with Carnival Cruise Lines For Burger Joint

Guy Fieri is taking his burgers out to sea​Carnival Cruise Lines announced that it will partner with Food Network host and author Guy Fieri to bring Fieri's concept of a roadside burger joint to life.Guy's Burger Joint will feature Fieri's creations, as well as a variety of sauces ranging from chi ... More >>

Royal Caribbean doesn't care about employees raped at sea, a lawyer says

Guy Fieri is taking his burgers out to sea​Carnival Cruise Lines announced that it will partner with Food Network host and author Guy Fieri to bring Fieri's concept of a roadside burger joint to life.Guy's Burger Joint will feature Fieri's creations, as well as a variety of sauces ranging from chi ... More >>

Ships Ahoy! Celebrity Cruises Culinary Boat Rides to Set Sail

The Millennium's Grand Buffet​Foodies, rejoice! Miami-based Celebrity Cruises is rolling out a series of culinary-inspired boat rides set to begin in March.Celebrity Cruises' lifestyle cookbook, Excite the Senses, was the inspiration for the new food-and-wine-themed luxury cruise series aptly name ... More >>

Mickey Mouse vs. Micky Arison: Disney Bringing Cruises to Port of Miami

​Micky Arison's Carnival Cruise Lines has another Mickey with a cruise empire about to encroach on its turf. Mickey Mouse that is. Disney Cruise Line has announced that beginning later this year, it will be sail ships out of the Port of Miami for the first time.