Feature: The Goodtime Hotel, Miami Beach
For his latest production, Pharrell Williams partners with David Grutman to create a playful bolthole inspired by the Art Deco era.
Singer, songwriter, record producer, fashion designer, and entrepreneur – Pharrell Williams has many strings to his bow. The musical great, who rose to fame after forming hip-hop and R&B production duo The Neptunes in the early 1990s, has gone on to achieve countless milestones in his career, not least winning 13 Grammy Awards, becoming an Oscar nominee and working with the likes of Jay-Z, Daft Punk and Snoop Dogg to produce era-defining sounds.
Now, the creative doyen is trying his hand as a hotelier, partnering with nightclub magnate David Grutman, real estate developers Michael D. Fascitelli and Eric Birnbaum, and American designer Ken Fulk to dream up a Wes Anderson-esque bolthole in Miami’s Art Deco district.
But this isn’t the debut single for Williams, Grutman and Fulk in The Magic City. Having banded together three years ago to create the candy-coloured interiors for F&B hotspots Swan and Bar Bevy, the artistic trio have added a bonus track in the form of The Goodtime Hotel, concocting a hedonistic sanctuary that dances eloquently between haven and playground. As the name suggests, it’s all about generating a positive experience, or what Williams calls “spiritual Wi-Fi.”
“We want to impart a feeling of both revitalisation and that rare, exciting thrill that takes over when you discover something special,” explains Williams, who cites fictional character Margot Tenenbaum from Anderson’s 2001 cult classic, The Royal Tenenbaums, as a source of inspiration for the project. “It’s that adrenaline-fuelled sensation of entering a whole new setting and mindset.”
Spanning an entire block between 6th and 7th Streets on Washington Avenue, the seven-storey structure – designed by Morris Adjmi Architects with a corrugated façade, towering white columns and a double-height breezeway – gives way to a series of intimate spaces that reimagine Art Deco and invite guests to trade bustle for bliss.
The opener is an airy atrium dotted with greenery and sporting handpainted hothouse murals and Deco plasterwork that hark back to bygone eras – think 1930s glamour and pastel-hued architecture. The nostalgic theme carries through to a lobby, featuring leopard-print fabrics and potted plants, the latter introduced as part of landscape architect Raymond Jungles’ plan to quite literally breathe life into the hotel’s rooms and gardens.
Beyond the lobby is an outdoor gym featuring MyBeast and Peloton fitness equipment, 45,000ft2 of retail space, a recording studio – of course – and a library, where guests can escape from the stresses of daily life to read a book, sit down for a coffee, or simply take a relaxing interlude. Prioritised for those staying the night, the intimate nook nods to the neighbourhood’s heritage by way of cosy seating, natural oak woods and a soft pink palette – the same calming aesthetic that graces the third-floor pool deck, recently frequented by none other than Kim Kardashian and the Beckhams during the hotel’s opening party.
The 30,000ft2 pool club has been designed with today’s Instagram-orientated traveller in mind and transports guests back in time to the height of the Art Deco era, synthesising the energy and style from old-world Cuba and Beverly Hills. Set against a backdrop of pale mint, coral and white, the space features twin pools tiled in broad stripes and is divided by a runway sprinkled with powder-coated palm fronds. Shaded bungalows and signature striped cabanas flank the pool’s jungle oasis.
And with Fulk’s creative nous comes Grutman’s expertise in delivering F&B concepts. Having spearheaded the opening of LIV Nightclub at Fontainebleau Miami Beach in 2008, before going on to launch another club in 2013 and several restaurants since, the Floridian saw The Goodtime Hotel as the natural next destination for his growing culinary empire. Named after the penumbral lunar eclipse that occurs closest to the summer solstice, Strawberry Moon is the centrepiece of the property and serves up Mediterranean classics with a modern twist, as well as cocktails to those unwinding by the pool. The restaurant’s design tips its hat to Mid-Century Caribbean and Central American resort towns such as Havana and Acapulco in their heyday, mixing pastel tiling, vintage scalloped bar seating and pinstriped awnings.
“My first hotel needed to break the mould,” says Grutman, who wanted to provide the 360-degree experience that his other Groot Hospitality venues in the city are known for, whilst adding an element of urban escapism to the mix. “This is about providing a getaway within a town that’s already known as a vacation spot. When you arrive at the hotel and walk through our doors, it becomes a full-on experience; we want you to feel like your worries and anxieties have been left outside.”
This sense of escapism is loud and clear in the guestrooms too, of which there are 266, ranging from queen bed accommodations to a number of suites that look out across Biscayne Bay or the Atlantic Ocean. Corridors leading up to the rooms echo the playful charm of Miami, donning a carpet woven with a pattern of wet footprints, and once inside, the layering of distinct South Beach flavour continues through mint-coloured pinstripe bedding, leopard-print benches and pink rotary dial phones.
Easing guests into a healthier state-of-mind through spaces that cultivate community, music that transports the consciousness and food that stimulates the soul, The Goodtime Hotel invites those who stay the night to find their own rhythm and get lost in the moment, delivering an immersive experience that, well, enables its residents to do what the name suggests. “This place will provide a natural good time for all who come through,” says Williams, who himself knows a thing or two about being happy.
