Alan Faena, a former fashion designer turned developer and hotelier, is the creative genius behind The Faena Hotel and the stylish “Faena District.” His dream to transform unappealing neighborhoods into luxury cultural landmarks became a reality back in 2004, when he purchased an abandoned stretch of docklands to open the Faena Buenos Aires. Once a notoriously dangerous city, Faena put Buenos Aires back on the map, and is credited for the most successful urban regeneration project in South America. Over the past few years, he has unveiled his latest labor of love in layers in Miami. First with the hotel, then with the launch The Faena Cabaret Show, next The Faena Art Forum and finally the Faena Bazaar. Each space is purposely designed to be a distinct experience, re-defining the concept of a hotel. For this specific project, he collaborated with Moulin Rouge director Baz Luhrmann who drew inspiration from opera houses and L.A.'s Chateau Marmont, mixing Fitzgeraldian Art Deco with South American elegance plus he got Damian Hirst to construct and display a 25 karat gold wooly mammoth. A glimpse below into my stay at my Miami Vice, The Faena XX Elisa
ACCOMODATIONS
ROOMS: 179 guestrooms including the most spacious Signature Suites on the South Florida coastline offering 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-bedroom suite accommodations.
WHAT TO BOOK: Majority of the guest rooms are Junior Suite driven so size is never a concern. Partial Ocean View Junior Suites and Ocean View Junior Suites at this level offer exceptional comfort with fully furnished outdoor balconies and all interconnecting options can be confirmed at time of reservation. My personal favorites were the 4 premier category rooms and suites.
WHAT TO SKIP: For me, Bay view room views left little to be desired once you saw ocean view rooms. If you are a couple or girlfriends traveling together, the only room I would shy away from are the Partial Ocean View King Rooms. These rooms are designed for solo travelers.
DINING
Our gorgeous Sunday Asado by Francis Mallman
DINING
LOS FUEGOS: Netflix’s Chef Table and Argentine grill master Francis Mallmann puts his gaucho touch on a contemporary asado experience with an open-fire kitchen and local ingredients, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.
PAO: Paul Qui, a James Beard award winning chef and winner on the Food Network’s Top Chef take on modern Asian cuisine, dinner only.
NOTES: We loved the Huevos Rancheros on LF’s breakfast menu and the 3pm Sunday Asado experience is a must. The food is delishly fresh and beautifully presented. I have now been to the Faena three times and we book the 3 pm slot every time. At Pao, the chilled peanut gazpacho with charred eggplant puree and the short rib mushroom rice was insane.
DINING & ENTERTAINMENT
The Faena has three areas to enjoy cocktails. Tree of Life is their outdoor patio lounge, The Living Room ( pictured below ) offers live music in the evenings and The Saxony Bar, only opened on weekends, not till 11pm and has a DJ. spinning tunes with a golden age glamour vibe.
The Faena Theater was inspired by Europe’s grand opera houses with an Old Hollywood vibe. The theater showcases ambitious artistic productions and Faena’s very own highly-acclaimed cabaret performances.
NOTES: The Living Room was my favorite spot. We loved coming back from dinner and having a glass of wine while listening to jazz music. The people watching was pretty great too. I unfortunately struggle to stay up late unless I am traveling abroad so I did not check out The Saxony Bar. The Faena Theater is a must and tickets sell out way in advance. Skip the dinner portion piece of the ticket and eat in one of the hotel restaurants instead.
WELLNESS
WELLNESS
The Tierra Santa Healing House. is an impressive 22,000-square-foot sanctuary that features one of the largest hammams available on the East Coast, along with shaman-developed body-healing rituals and treatments, and technologically advanced facial treatments using Naturopathic and Biologique Recherche skincare lines.
NOTES: The Hammam Rose Ritual will not disappoint.
WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
MAPPS X FAENA: Special nightly rates, a complimentary upgrade subject to availability, daily breakfast and food and beverage credits.
LOCATION: 25 minutes from Miami International Airport and 35 minutes from Blade Lounge Miami by car.
BEST TIME OF YEAR TO VISIT: November-May
IDEAL GUEST: One who values personalized service, art, design, theater and prefers hotels that have a private club atmosphere. While the hotel welcomes families, we prefer other hotels for children.
P.S. For a long weekend trip I would do Pao one night for dinner and the Sunday Asado for a late lunch leaving 2 nights to hit up our other favs: Kyu,Casa Tua, Planta and Mandolin.