MOON OVER MIAMI Part II: Miami's Viceroy Hotel, A Place For All Seasons

(Promotional Photo from The Viceroy Miami)

    
It's been years since I visited Brickell Avenue in Miami, and it was quite the treat to drive up to the world famous Viceroy Hotel, which opened its doors in 2009. Designed by Arquitectonica, the architectural firm who designed the famed building in the opening shots of "Miami Vice", the building's architecture was intriguing to say the least.

On the way into the porte cochere, I immediately turned to Mr. Magpie and said, "I have a funny feeling."

 "Kind of like you're being watched?" he prodded.

To which I replied an emphatic, "Yes."

"Well you are," said he. "The columns are reminiscent of Easter Island stone heads with definite faces."

Apparently it was true as evidenced by this fine fellow who looks friendly enough and was actually quite welcoming, a bit of a chatterer, too, with his mouth forming the word, 'Welcome!" And is that a goatee I detect? Manard G. Krebbs, could that possibly be you? 

I should have known the Easter Islanders were only the beginning.

As we walked into the lobby, a whole new world of marble and color, sculpture and stone, art and furnishings greeted us, all in a design by world famous Kelly Wearstler...

Notice how this pink chair has sort of a lip shape, nodding to the sculpture above...

( This Photo adapted from a Promotional Photo of The Viceroy Miami)

Twin stone obelisks guard the doors...

And the curtains appear to be patterned after an oriental screen (they are much more vibrant in person)...

And are executed in watery shades, reflective of the Miami environment...

This nice man tried to convince the Magpies to pose for a picture on the large daybed in the lobby, but he doesn't know Mrs. Magpie very well, does he? ;-)

And this young lady told us an interesting story after she checked us into our room...

See this item?

It just so happens to be a chair.

.

See all of the stones, many of which have been cross-sectioned into the design? Interesting, no? Not saying I want a chair worth the price of a nice automobile ($30,000 plus), but it certainly was fun to see. I also love the colors.

You can see it better in this promotional photo that I borrowed and cropped....

(Adapted from a Promotional Photo of The Viceroy Miami)

All of the lobbies and hallways were intriguing as well.  If you look through this way, just under those mirrored panels...

You will see another lobby that contains some elevators...

And wonderful paintings of Asian cranes...

These paintings remind me of a print of an Asian screen I had framed with a black silk mat, a print that hung in my college apartment. I loved Chinoiserie even back then.  Apparently, Kelly Wearstler does, too.

This lobby also contains a table full of sculpture...

  (Promotional Photo from The Viceroy Miami)

The table itself is reminiscent of a tortoise shell...

And here is the chandelier that looks like a starburst to me...

While these lobby areas soar up to high ceilings and are light in color, many of the hallways are dark, moody, and rich, like this one which features walls painted malachite green...

And this water fountain is on a green marble wall. With the brass porthole lights, I felt as if I were underwater on a submarine...

Then there is this hall featuring Asian ladies in large Chinese hats...

The ladies greet you when you step off the elevator, and they stand guard over screens...

Screens that contain piercings through which light is filtered...

.

This hallway terminates into the malachite hallway beyond...

In addition to the marble floors, the spaces often feature similar light fixtures such as these...

While stone is carried throughout the building as seen here in this urn...

And in this console, mirror, and pair of urns

Overall, you have a feeling of solidarity coupled with fantasy as if the hotel is of the past, but also very current and whimsical. It was fun being here, the perfect place to work and play.

I actually preferred the lighter hallways like this one which appears to be highly lacquered...

Love these walls!

And this chest!

Then we turned a corner and happened onto one of my favorite lobby areas...

What's new, pussycat?

The lion only looked fierce; he wasn't a biter.

Our room had a lot of these same chinoiserie features such as a crane painting over the bed, marble floors, chinoiserie fretwork over the mirrored closet doors, and large fu dog lamps among other things...

Here is a shot of the desks and chests that are common to at least some of the bedrooms.  It is my understanding that Kelly Wearstler also decorated these areas.  This  next shot is of a hotel room that is a little larger than the one we had.  Our desk was against the wall opposite the bed, while this one is obviously stationed in front of the window. Oh, and the lamps?  The lamps are made of some type of light-weight material, maybe fiberglass (though it felt more like plastic when you touched it). But they look heavy and more like porcelain. The cabinets on either side of the desk opening are lacquered, and the design looks like small green leaf fronds. The chair has a faux rope design...

(Promotional Photo from The Viceroy Miami)

Here's a shot of Mr. Magpie hard at work with my pink and orange Ikat bag crowding him. ;-) This will give you an idea of the size of those lamps...

And a closeup of the chair...

(Cropped from a Promotional Photo of The Viceroy Miami)

And the fu dog lamp and cabinet...

(Promotional Photo from The Viceroy Miami's Facebook)

While fu dogs can look fierce, this one looks pretty friendly...

And here is a closeup of the crane over the bed.  He looks as if he is speaking into a microphone, only it's the reading light  beside the bed.  I noticed this AFTER I took the shot. Me thinks the maid has a sense of humor. ;-)

Now, let's talk about food!

The wonderful thing about the food at The Viceroy is that they have 24-hour room service!  Heaven! And they have tappas (Spanish portions) aka smaller servings of food if you enjoy grazing which I do.

The best way to share photos of the dining and bar areas with you is to borrow the ones from The Viceroy's website HERE or their Facebook page HERE.

Look how colorful!

The first two shots were ones I found back in June, but that restaurant has since changed with another one opening in its place.  So I am not sure if these first two interior spaces still exist except in photos.  I thought they were so interesting that I still wanted to share them with you...

(Previous Promotional Photo of The Viceroy Miami from Facebook)

(Previous Promotional Photo of The Viceroy Miami from Facebook)

Here is a current shot of one of the outdoor dining venues, this one with a giant fireplace and equally giant screen. The chairs look like they are steel (which I love!)...

(Promotional Photo of The Viceroy Miami)

I believe that these next shots are FIFTY, a very chic lounge/bar which is on the 50th floor of the building (and which I shamefully did not go see). There are wonderful outdoor shots as well, with the sky as the roof!

(Promotional Photo from The Viceroy Miami)

(Promotional Photo from The Viceroy Miami)
  

(Promotional Photo from\The Viceroy Miami)

(Promotional Photo from The Viceroy Miami)

(Promotional Photo from The Viceroy Miami)

And this space is known as The Great Room which I assume is used for meetings, banquets, and receptions.  I love the stylish chairs...

(Promotional Photo from The Viceroy Miami)

The hotel also has a world-class spa designed by famed designer Philipe Starck...

(Promotional Photo from The Viceroy Miami)

 This is the locker room!!!  Oh, yeah...

(Promotional Photo from The Viceroy Miami)

Massage, anyone?  Me! Me!

(Promotional Photo from The Viceroy Miami)

The pool area is truly phenomenal, as well, with its 300-foot infinity pool!


Let's step out through this area...

To see this...

(Promotional Photo from The Viceroy Miami's Facebook)

  Isn't this gorgeous? ??

(Promotional Photo from The Viceroy Miami)

Want to go for a dip, anyone?

(Promotional Photo from The Viceroy Miami's Facebook)

It's beautiful by day...

(Promotional Photo from The Viceroy Miami's Facebook)

And it is particularly magical late at night...

Large curtained daybeds...

Row upon row...

Giant pots...

Whimsical lights...

The pig is for Lynn (and Earl)...

The yardbird is for Shelia...

And the kitty is for Debbie & Co. (particularly Baby Kitty)...

This area had the largest screens I have EVER seen, like this white one. Just compare it in size to the chair and table beside it!

And here is a natural screen with stationary louvers and the city lights peeping between the cracks...

And look at the clouds!

They literally look as if they are sitting on top of the screens...

And behind the screens is this wonderful condo in an adjacent tower...

I was ready to move in, but I guess I will have to settle on being a mere voyeur. ;-)

In addition to the hotel with its guest rooms and condos, the Viceroy also has neighbors in these adjacent condo towers known as Icon Brickell which are on either side of the pool.   Many condos face the water, while others like the one above, also face the other downtown buildings and the lights at night.

(Promotional Photo from The Viceroy Miami's Facebook)

Here is a shot of some of the condos that The Viceroy Miami has for short and long term rentals.

This first shot is a studio rental...

(Promotional Photo from The Viceroy Miami)

And the following is a shot of the living room of the larger accommodations. I'm ready to move in!  Bet you didn't know that I adore contemporary, spare, white interiors?  I do.  It's just that I like clutter and color more. ;-)  When I was in college, I had a chrome arc lamp like the one below.  I wonder if they bought this from the thrift sale where I donated it. Not!

(Promotional Photo from The Viceroy Miami)

We had a wonderful time, and this is the BUSINESS DISTRICT in downtown! All I can say is, it is a hopping place, and I could live there! 

All in all, I would give The Viceroy Miami a "5" for their accommodations, but also for their high quality service. They could not have been nicer to us from the car parks to the bellhops to the desk clerks to the maids to the waiters. Speaking of the latter, I wanted to adopt the waiters who brought us Room Service.  They were GREAT and never complained about delivering meals (or tappas) at odd hours when I needed a snack for reinforcement, usually while borrowing Mr. Magpie's computer for this or that... like visiting you.

I hope you enjoyed this little tour of The Viceroy Miami. While we supplemented our photographs with some of the photographs borrowed, as noted, from the hotel website HERE and their Facebook HERE, the other shots were taken by us on our phones.  Our photographs are a little dark, but I hope they still give you some idea of what this facitlity has to offer.

 And no, I am not being compensated for this review.  We paid for our room!  We don't often take vacations per se (maybe one every ten years), but I do love to go with Mr. Magpie on the occasional business jaunt or on an occasional long weekend. This trip was combined business and pleasure, to meet with some clients and to celebrate his birthday which is the last one of a particular decade. He's getting OLD, but his bride is not! ;-)

I am joining Sally for "Blue Monday".

Hope you will join us there, too!

Thank you for visiting me here, and I look forward to visiting you in return. :-)

Warmly,

Mrs. Magpie (Sheila)