Commune Hotels & Resorts hotel management company has partnered with celebrity chef Michelle Bernstein and Miami-based KNR Hospitality Group for the newest Thompson hotel – Thompson Miami Beach in Florida – to target the local community with a vast F&B offering.
Michelle Bernstein, a James Beard Foundation Award-wining chef, is known for making frequent appearances on US national television in shows such as
Top Chef, Iron Chef America and
The Today Show. She also hosts her own PBS weekly television series
Check, Please! South Florida.
The 380-key beachfront hotel and six-treatment room spa is expected to open in the first week of December 2014, with numerous spaces dedicated to food and beverage – which is expected to account for more than 50 per cent of the property’s revenue according to Commune CEO Niki Leondakis.
“There is enough demand,” Leondakis told
Hotels Magazine. “The location and our programming will command it. It will be approachable from a price standpoint, have Michelle’s Florida influences and we’ll provide easy access for locals.”
“Celebrated hometown chef Michelle Bernstein will bring her acclaimed Latin-style cooking to guests seeking local flavours, while KNR – a driving force in Miami hospitality for decades – brings incomparable local knowledge to the table,” Leondakis added.
There will be a 267-seat brasserie, a library bar for consuming rare spirits and fine wines, a cocktail bar and two indoor/ outdoor restaurants.
The building’s original art deco features and 1950s architecture will be preserved by designer Martin Brudnizki in collaboration with Kobi Karp Architects. According to
Hotels Magazine, the property was previously an apartment building, acquired by John Pritzker’s Geolo Capital for US$100m (€73m, £59m) in late 2012 and renovated by Brudnizki.
Other hotel facilities include two pools, gardens and lounges with ocean views, 47,000sq ft (4,366sq m) of venue space, and a fitness centre. Thompson Hotels were unable to provide further details of the spa’s development at this stage.
Commune’s portfolio of hotels its manages include Joie de Vivre Hotels, Thompson Hotels and Tommie Hotels. Leondakis revealed Commune has three additional Thompson Hotels under development, as well as two Tommie hotels in New York and four Joie de Vivre properties in the pipeline.
