W Miami Hotel

W Miami, formerly Viceroy Miami, is a luxury hotel located in Brickell, Miami and part of the three tower mixed-use Icon Brickell complex. The hotel, located at 485 Brickell Avenue, opened in 2009 and contains several restaurants, pools, and lounges.[1][2]

Qatari hospitality investment firm Al Rayyan Tourism Investment Company (ARTIC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Al Faisal Holding, acquired the Viceroy Miami hotel in June 2016 for $64.5 million.[3] Following the sale, the hotel was rebranded as a Starwood Hotels and Resort Worldwide's W Miami.[4]

Property details

The hotel opened in 2009 and was designed by Arquitectonica, a Miami-based international architecture, interior design, and urban planning company.[5] In 2011, the Viceroy was bought by Pebblebrook Hotel Trust for $36.5 million.[6]

W Miami is one of three towers in the Icon Brickell project. The 10-acre development is located in a waterfront property in the urban Brickell neighborhood of Greater Downtown Miami. Located in Tower 3, W Miami, consists of 148 rooms and suites, 5 commercial units, and 38 condominium hotel units in the 50-story building.[7]

W Miami is best known for its rooftop cocktail lounge on the 50th floor, the signature W Living Room on the hotel's 15th floor, and Florida's largest infinity pool also located on the rooftop.[8]

ARTIC acquisition

On June 1, 2016, Al Rayyan Tourism Investment Company (ARTIC), a subsidiary of the Qatar-based Al Faisal Holding Company, announced its acquisition of the Viceroy Miami hotel and the subsequent rebranding of the property into a W hotel.[9] The acquisition cost $64.5 million and led to the cessation of Viceroy's management of the hotel as Starwood Hotels and Resorts, the owner of the W Hotels brand, took over management.[10]

The acquisition of Viceroy Miami was ARTIC's fifth investment in the U.S. and the second in Miami, following the $213 million acquisition of St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort in 2014.[11][12] ARTIC's U.S. hospitality portfolio includes the Radisson Blu hotel in Chicago, the St. Regis Washington D.C., the Manhattan Times Square in New York, and the St. Regis Bal Harbour Hotel in Miami.[13] The W Miami is the third W hotel in South Florida, in addition to W South Beach and W Fort Lauderdale.[14][15]

News

In late November 2016, several months after the ARTIC acquisition of W Miami, it was announced that Icon Brickell's pool would close for construction expected to last 12 months.[16] A Miami Herald report mentioned that the construction may be intended to fix deck tiles that became slick when wet, to redo the pool's piping system, or to fix leaks from the pool into the parking garage below.[17] According to a letter from the Icon Brickell Master Association, the use of other pool locations during the pool's closure is not available.[18] The 2016 report claimed that Icon Brickell's condo associations are engaged in a legal dispute with the general contractor over "allegedly faulty construction throughout the entire site."[19]

Curbed Miami predicted that rent prices in the W Miami would decrease and that the pool may be closed for "a couple of years".[20][21]

Awards

Before the 2016 ARTIC acquisition, Viceroy Miami was mentioned as one of USA Today's "10 Best" 2015 Best Hotel Rooftop Bars.[22] ARTIC also stated that Viceroy Miami had previously been awarded Conde Nast Traveler's Top Hotels in Florida in 2013 and 2015.[23]

References
  1. "Miami Hotels | Hotel in Downtown Miami | W Miami". W Miami | Official Website | Best Rates, Guaranteed. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  2. "ARTIC expands US hotel portfolio with acquisition of Viceroy Miami". Al-Watan. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  3. "Qatar's Artic acquires Miami hotel for $65m". www.tradearabia.com. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  4. "Brickell's Viceroy Miami sells for $65 million, rebranded as W hotel". miamiherald. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  5. "Qatar's ARTIC acquires Viceroy Miami hotel for $65m". Arabian Business. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  6. "Brickell's Viceroy Miami sells for $65 million, rebranded as W hotel". miamiherald. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  7. "ARTIC Acquires Viceroy Hotel". www.artic.com.qa. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  8. http://travel.usnews.com/Hotels/review-Viceroy_Miami-Miami-Florida-12234/
  9. "ARTIC Acquires Viceroy Hotel". www.artic.com.qa. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  10. "Brickell's Viceroy Miami sells for $65 million, rebranded as W hotel". miamiherald. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  11. "ARTIC Acquires Viceroy Hotel". www.artic.com.qa. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  12. "Starwood Sells Miami Hotel to Qatar's Al Faisal for $213 Million". Bloomberg.com. 2014-01-22. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  13. "All". www.artic.com.qa. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  14. "South Beach Hotel | Hotel on Collins Avenue | W South Beach". W South Beach | Official Website | Best Rates, Guaranteed. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  15. "Fort Lauderdale Luxury Hotel | W Fort Lauderdale Hotel". W Fort Lauderdale | Official Website | Best Rates, Guaranteed. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  16. Baumgard, Josh (2016-11-28). "Icon Brickell's pool closes next week with no alternative pool option". Curbed Miami. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  17. "Pool at luxe Brickell condo needs massive repairs, could shut down for a year". miamiherald. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  18. Baumgard, Josh (2016-11-28). "Icon Brickell's pool closes next week with no alternative pool option". Curbed Miami. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  19. "Pool at luxe Brickell condo needs massive repairs, could shut down for a year". miamiherald. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  20. Baumgard, Josh (2016-03-08). "Icon Brickell Finally Emailed Its Owners Regarding the 14-Month Pool Deck Renovation". Curbed Miami. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  21. Baumgard, Josh (2016-11-28). "Icon Brickell's pool closes next week with no alternative pool option". Curbed Miami. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  22. "Best Hotel Rooftop Bar Winners: 2015 10Best Readers' Choice Travel Awards". 10Best. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  23. "ARTIC Acquires Viceroy Hotel". www.artic.com.qa. Retrieved 2017-02-16.

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