As a Miami resident, I’m most excited about creating a place that I personally want to go to and can recommend to my friends and associates,” says Neil Shah, president and chief operating officer of Hersha Hospitality Trust, a multi-billion-dollar hotel and real estate firm. “We’re offering unique, non-touristy ways to see Miami by land, air and sea.”
Among the company’s 49 hotels across the country, six are located in South Florida, including the Cadillac Hotel & Beach Club in Miami Beach, which reopens following a multi-million-dollar renovation. Now part of Marriott International’s Autograph Collection, the Cadillac Hotel & Beach Club includes 357 guest rooms featuring a Mediterranean blue-and-white color scheme, bold prints from Greek key to palms, and offering beach and city views.
Cadillac Hotel & Beach Club
To transform original architect Roy France’s 1940s Art Deco gem, interior design firm Bill Rooney Studio channeled the European Riviera, and the Cadillac is reopening with a beachside restaurant, Bungalow by the Sea that offers a raw bar and rosé-all-day concept. The Amalfi Coast is also represented through chef Manuel Mattei’s Donna Mare trattoria.
“We saw a transformation in demographics, such as families, who were looking for cultural activities and beachfront resorts as opposed to South Beach’s party crowd and boutique hotels,” says Shah of the hotel, that captured his attention with the historic structure’s strong bones and heritage, and its hot neighborhood, Mid-Beach, which is a straight shot to the airport and near all the best art and shopping in Wynwood, Bal Harbour and the Miami Design District. “As part of our European sensibility, we want our guests to truly feel a connection to our community.”
Main image credit: Hersha Hospitality Trust
