BETHESDA, Md./MIAMI — Officials of Urgo Hotels & Resorts, a hotel company that develops, invests, owns, and operates hotels and resorts throughout the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean, announced that the company has assumed management of the newly opened, 202-room Moxy Miami South Beach. Developed and owned by Lightstone, one of the largest and most diversified privately-held real estate companies in the United States, the new-build hotel marks the brand’s first resort-style property.
“The Moxy Miami South Beach is the perfect addition to our ever-growing portfolio of lifestyle hotels across the United States and Canada,” said Matt Jalazo, senior vice president of development, Urgo Hotels & Resorts. “From its glass-bottomed pool looking into the lobby to our multiple, locally inspired dining options with world-class chefs, the hotel is sure to attract area visitors looking for a true ‘South Beach’ experience. Lightstone has built a truly one-of-a-kind hotel with uniquely South Beach flair, and we look forward to working together to make the Moxy Miami South Beach a success by every measure.”
Located at 915 Washington Ave., the eight-story hotel opened in South Beach’s newly revitalized “Art Deco Historic District” in the heart of the retail, restaurant, and entertainment corridor. The second-floor terrace houses a 72-foot pool, benches in the water, tiered lounge seating, and luxury private cabanas. The pool has an eight-foot, see-through cutout at the bottom of the pool, allowing swimmers to see directly into the lobby. The hotel also features an eighth-floor rooftop that provides oceanfront views facing one direction and the Miami skyline in the other, with expansive seating and a wading pool.
The property also has six new dining concepts focusing on Mexican, Caribbean, and local flavors. Upon arrival, travelers simultaneously can order a cocktail while performing a contactless check-in at Bar Moxy. Los Buenos, an all-day bodega and taco stand, serves tacos on hand-pressed tortillas and burrito bowls, as well as breakfast items and a curated selection of accessories, magazines, clothing, and Miami gifts sourced from local purveyors. La Colombe serves a variety of specialty coffee drinks. The open-air rooftop restaurant and bar, Serena, serves shareable dishes and hand-crafted cocktails accompanied by live music. The Upside, the hotel’s eighth-floor rooftop bar, provides alfresco movie screening area alongside its wading pool. The venue also has a geometric mural by New York’s Edward Granger which is illuminated during the night. The hotel also will open two additional eateries in April 2021—a seafood restaurant and raw bar specializing in the ancient Mexican wood- and charcoal grilling technique called Como Como and Mezcalista, a mezcal lounge with an assortment of more than 100 types of rare mezcals and tequilas.
Guestrooms at the hotel have floor-to-ceiling windows and design resembling ocean liner staterooms and inspired by an overnight ferry service between Miami and Havana that operated in the 1940s and ‘50s. All bedrooms showcase custom art by Miami-based Aquarela Sabol and depict iconic artists—Frida Kahlo, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Pablo Picasso, and Salvador Dalí—touring South Beach.
“The addition of the Moxy Miami South Beach continues our evolution as a leading operator of unique, lifestyle hotels that appeal to guests seeking experiential travel,” Jalazo added. “We remain confident that these type of destination hotels will be among the first to rebound due to pent-up consumer demand.”
