Best Things to Do in Miami Design District

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The late Morris Lapidus famously titled his 1996 autobiography Too Much Is Never Enough, an apt sentiment from an architect who championed the Midcentury Modern aesthetic, opting for drama and whimsy over less-is-more austerity. You have only to glimpse the details at the landmark Miami Beach resorts he conceptualized—the Swiss cheese wall at the Fontainebleau, or the Eden Roc's flamboyant lobby—to under- stand that this was a man who viewed hotels as theater. (He counted Broadway legend Busby Berkeley as an art influence.)

"Too much is never enough" could also apply to tourism in Miami. Consider that more than 2,500 hotel rooms will join the existing 50,000 in 2015, and by all accounts they're much needed, as occupancy rates are at an all-time high. And for perhaps the first time in 25 years, the conversation isn't rooted in glamorous South Beach. Bal Harbour, downtown Miami, and the nearby Design District are all exploding. With the city's high season about to get rolling—driven by the flurry of fabulous parties scheduled during Art Basel Miami Beach (this year it runs December 3–6)—now is the time to plan that long weekend. And with four hot districts to choose from, you can explore one per day.

MIAMI BEACH

Those who frequent London or Paris might find the area's Art Deco buildings kitschy, but there's no mistaking the style found in South Beach and adjacent Mid-Beach, with their abundance of chic hotels a quick Uber ride from loads of hot restaurants and nightclubs. Prefer your amenities under one roof? Ian Schrager—who propelled South Beach's hotel boom with his 1992 Delano renovation—opened the Edition last year, enticing Jean-Georges Vongerichten to oversee the hotel's four restaurants, which include the Latin-inspired Matador Room. The huge Basement nightclub houses a bowling alley and theater. From $259, editionhotels.com

A few blocks north, hotelier Alan Faena is developing a project similar to his celebrated Faena District in Bue- nos Aires, with a hotel, shops, restaurants, and an eponymous arts center along six blocks of Miami Beach waterfront. It debuts on November 1 with the Faena Hotel Miami Beach, a 169-room property with a fanciful pedigree, including interiors by filmmaker Baz Luhrmann and costume designer Catherine Martin (from $745, faena.com). Shortly after that the Faena Forum, a 50,000-square-foot arts center designed by Rem Koolhaas, opens.

In 2016 look for the 210-room Nobu Hotel at Eden Roc, a "hotel within a hotel" designed by David Rockwell (from $450; edenrocmiami.com). Meanwhile, Lapidus is having yet another moment: In October, Sixty Hotels reopens the refurbished Nautilus, a SIXTY Hotel (friends and family opening rate of $195/night, sixtyhotels.com), with his iconic stairway to nowhere.

DESIGN DISTRICT

This area in midtown, once a trade-centric enclave of galleries, artist studios, and interior design showrooms, has for a while been a burgeoning retail and restaurant hot spot. The industrial vibe has been supplanted by a more refined, open-air environment that invites comparisons to Rodeo Drive—though the graffiti art that once dominated the district is still in evidence. Book a tour with Wynwood Art Walk (305-814-9290) to get the true flavor of the neighborhood's beginnings. Tom Ford and Hermès shops will soon join Lanvin, Emilio Pucci, and Cartier.

Chef Michael Schwartz was an area pioneer, opening the farm-to-table Michael's Genuine Food & Drink in 2007, and then Harry's Pizzeria and the more elegant Cypress Room. Other popular spots are the Embassy, for tapas by Alan Hughes, and Mandolin Aegean Bistro, which features mezes like grilled octopus.

BAL HARBOUR

More low-key than its southern neighbors, and more posh, Bal Harbour is Miami's Upper East Side to South Beach's Soho. Passionate shoppers should make this their base. Secluded outposts of the Ritz-Carlton, with a new Exhale Spa (from $550, 305-455-5400), and the St. Regis (from $639, 305-993-3300) are here; the latter is just across the road from one of the top retail destinations in the world, Bal Harbour Shops, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. This is where you'll find the only freestanding Chanel, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, and Graff boutiques in Miami. (Legendary trunkmaker Goyard arrives in December.)

Dining options include the immensely popular Carpaccio, which will be joined before the end of the year by a Stephen Starr bistro.

DOWNTOWN/ BRICKELL DISTRICT

Biscayne Boulevard and Brickell Avenue used to be dominated by towering office buildings, but a culture scene is blossoming thanks to the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, and the two-year-old Pérez Art Museum Miami. With its mix of high-profile visiting artists and permanent works by Diego Rivera, Purvis Young, and Frank Stella, PAMM is rightfully gaining a place on the global stage. Helping considerably is the Biscayne Bay location: Make time for cocktails at Verde, the museum's Stephen Starr restaurant, which has beautiful water views. The Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science, complete with planetarium and shark tank, arrives at Museum Park in 2016.

The Four Seasons and the Viceroy are already here, but you won't find a more highly anticipated project than Brickell City Centre, a $1 billion mixed-use development that will debut with the opening of a 263-room hotel, EAST, Miami (from $479, east-miami.com), in late 2015.

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Best Things to Do in Miami Design District

Source: https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/travel-guide/g1599/beach-aside-the-best-things-to-do-in-miami/

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