A New Hotel Gives Miami Beach Its Own Little Slice of Spain

Among many things Miami synonymous with — excess, party, flashy, sex and sea — cute isn’t what you think it is. Cute, or its charming sibling, requires restraint. But on Miami’s South Beach on a street lined with Old World buildings was the focal point of the ’20s and then the backdrop of Miami Vice is a new hotel, Esmé, embodies cuteness and charm.

This is the latest pick to Beast Travel’s series of exciting new hotels, Room Key.

At the height of their fifties, a pair of real estate developers turned part of Miami Beach into a Spanish town square. To enter Española Way with its vaulted stucco facade, you must be transported somewhere other than the “new” city of Miami Beach. But for years it became a crime den where gangsters like Al Capone did business, and then it fell into disrepair. Decades of work to restore it and turn it into a pedestrian-only spot have brought it back to the intentions of its creators.

The centerpiece of the district is Esmé, a collection of eight buildings with 145 guest rooms that opened last fall, along with five restaurants and bars.

The original developers of Española Way envisioned the neighborhood as a bohemian, artsy village, and so the hotel’s owners have tried to honor that in a variety of ways, including ones Small alleys paved with travertine tiles and decorated with colorful tiles connect the complex.

polite Esme

The hotel’s entrance is in the white plastered Spanish Revival building facing Washington Avenue with salmon-painted details and trim and a blue-and-white striped porch. The balance of traditional renaissance style with trendy elements creates the magic of this place and it’s the harmony that begins as you enter. and a plaid fireplace set inside green marble.

In Miami Beach hotel rooms, you usually have limited fare to Art Deco or sleek modern. The rooms here are a stark contrast, decorated by Jessica Schuster Design with so much flair that you’ll wonder it’s never too much. In the main complex called Esmé Village, the rooms are playful pink and juniper green, and seem geared toward younger tourists. Crossing the square at Casa Mantanza, one encounters rooms and suites with the coziness one would expect to find at a boutique hotel in Tuscany rather than the heart of one of its party cities. U.S. They are bathed in rich colors such as wine red, or burnt gold combined with mahogany furniture and gold metalwork. The suites reach a particularly high aesthetic, perfectly responding to the village developers’ Spanish obsession with ornate tiles and rugs.

It’s Miami Beach so you’ll wonder at this point where the hotel is in relation to the sun and sand – only a 5 minute walk and the hotel has its own section with towels and chairs provided and important especially drinks. If you’re more of a billiards fan, you can head up to the roof and sit in one of the poolside cabanas – there are only a few and first come, first served, so go early – to enjoy food from the menu all day while enjoying the sun. Come back on Friday and Saturday evenings when it’s transformed into a dance floor under the stars. One caveat, however, is that between the piazza and the terrace, Esmé and its surrounding areas get a bit of a scene on the weekends and so aren’t necessarily for early bedtimes to get up early.

polite Esme

Like any good village, Esmé has plenty of dining options. Bar Pintxo, the hotel’s own modern interpretation of a Basque pintxo bar serving light snacks, beer, sparkling wine and of course Basque cider. For a cocktail, El Salón is the place to be. Don’t worry if you can’t spot any of the wines behind the bar, they just carry their own proprietary blended spirits under their own label. At Casa Matanza you’ll find the latest from the founder of Mandolin, one of Miami’s most popular restaurants. Dubbed The Drexel, the restaurant’s menu is simple with wood-fired pizza and pasta, but it still keeps up with Mandolin’s legendary reputation.