Faena Town

Miami’s newest luxury hotel is bringing an arts and culture utopia to the beach. Faena Hotel Miami Beach made its debut during Art Basel last month and its a game changer. Conceived by flamboyant Argentinean developer Alan Faena, the hotel- which has 169 lavish rooms- is one of the first buildings to open in the still unspooling Faena District, located between 32nd and 36th Streets on Collins Avenue, which was once a no-man’s land between South Beach and another row of luxury hotels. This ambitious $1 billion, six-block, eight building project is something that has never been seen in Miami, even though the city is sizzling hot these days. Luxury condominiums, a shopping bazaar and the Faena Forum arts center are all expected to be completed by year’s end. The district’s Foster + Partners designed Faena House apartment block has already set records: having recently sold for $60 million, its penthouse is the most expensive home in all of Florida.

For the hotel, Faena collaborated with various artists and creatives in its development- including filmmaker Baz Luhrmann and his Academy Award winning wife, the costume and set designer Catherine Martin- to create a hotel that provides touches of theater throughout. At the outdoor Los Fuegos restaurant- overseen by high-profile Argentinean chef Francisc Mallmann- tables look towards the beach while an open fire kitchen is flanked by seashell-encrusted columns. A common aesthetic linking the hotel’s spaces is the color red and displays of fresh roses, both symbolizing love and passion in Faena’s eyes. That’s my kind of utopia. www.faena.com