The Setai

Miami

Florida, the Sunshine State, is in the extreme southeast of the United States surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean on its east coast and the Everglades National Park to the west. The metropolis of Miami, with a population of 5.4 million, welcomed hundreds of thousands of Cubans seeking refuge after the revolution of 1959. This wave was followed by immigrants from Mexico, Colombia and Argentina, making Miami one of the most multicultural cities in the United States.

Its buildings, celebrity villas and luxurious yachts have earned Miami the reputation of a city of extravagance and glitz. There is however, another facet to Miami that can be found in its different neighborhoods. The Art Deco District, Little Havana, Little Haiti, the Broadway like Lyric theatre and Coral Gables with its Italian, South African, French and Chinese styles are examples of Miami’s rich historical heritage.

The Art Deco District in fact, is the only neighborhood in America to be classified as a National Historical Landmark. Characterized by pastel colored buildings, it is in the South Beach quarter, or SoBe to the initiated, at the southern tip of Miami Beach. On the four main thoroughfares, Ocean Drive, Collins Avenue, Washington Avenue and Lincoln Road, apartment buildings, office buildings and elegant villas proudly display their 30s, 40s and 50s Tropical Art Deco style.

After falling into disuse and threatened with destruction only decades ago, it was inscribed in the National Register of Heritage Sites in 1979 and renovated in the 1980s. The facades of these buildings are all in soft pastel colors. The quarter served as the décor for a number of cult television series including the world famous Miami Vice. South Beach is a tourist site where, surrounded by palm trees, we find art galleries, market stalls, design hotels as well as trendy bars and night clubs.

A legendary hotel

It’s in this thoroughly art deco quarter that the mythical Hotel Vanderbilt was located. Built in 1938, it is now a 40 story glass tower which challenges its competitors under its current name of Setai.

The original and classic art deco building once owned by the legendary heavyweight boxing champion, Jack Dempsey, is now part of the select GHM hotel group of Adrian Zecha. This discreet businessman and a master of the art of creating luxury hotels turned the two buildings into a radically different and extraordinary establishment.

The interior of the two buildings is identical, the work of two renowned designers, Jean-Michel Gathy and Jaya Ibrahim. In spite of the pure lines and the minimalism, the art deco style combined with subtle Asian touches is omnipresent.

In the lobby, we find a multitude of Chinese objects, statues, paintings and bronzes from Shanghai. The same refined elegance exists in the 125 rooms where brick, teak, bronze and precious fabrics are adjacent to black granite bathrooms with rain head showers. The rooms are a far cry from the white and the pastel colors of SoBe. The rooms are all huge with a view of the blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The Penthouse Suite has magnificent balconies and a private rooftop swimming pool with a panoramic view of Miami and Miami Beach.

The restaurant is built on small platforms in the midst of a pool, and one can dine or simply have drink suspended above the water while watching what is going on in the kitchen. The menu is a mixture of genres with stunning Asian and western specialties. Guests seeking an even more luxurious atmosphere should head for the Champagne, Shellfish and Caviar Bar where a selection of the world’s finest foie gras, caviar, ham, salmon and oysters is are available. For total relaxation, guests have the choice of the transparent ocean water or one of the hotel’s three magnificent swimming pools. And if that is not enough, the spa proposes massages and body treatments in a zen like filtered ambiance. At the Setai, an eastern art de vivre is the order of the day, ideal for a stressed out western clientele.

Many celebrities have enjoyed the luxury and the atmosphere of the Setai including Michael Jackson, Heidi Klum, Gisel Bundchen and Tom Brady. Lenny Kravitz was so fond of the place that he set up his recording studio there.