Sara Bliss’s Guide to her favourite Secret Spots in Miami

I first fell in love with Miami in 2000, when my husband and I decided not to board our connecting flight back home and instead extend our honeymoon there for a couple of nights – but as this was a romantic, totally spur of the moment decision, we had absolutely no place to stay. The Delano was the only hotel I knew of and they were booked, so they recommended The National next door. The Deco hotel had teeny rooms, but the nicest pool underneath rows of palm trees, and a spectacular spot on the beach.  Being half American and half Ecuadorian, I reveled in the international culture of the city. Everyone spoke Spanish. We had amazing Latin food. Pair that with the Deco architecture, incredibly fun nightlife and a beautiful beach, and it was hard not to fall in love. I get back to Miami as often as I can. I love that it’s always changing. Every year there is a new crop of hip hotels and amazing restaurants, so lots to write about as someone who covers travel and design. Here are my must-do recommendations for a Miami weekend. For more ideas, check out site, Hotel Chic.

THE HOTEL:  Soho Beach House reigned as the Miami hotspot status a few years ago, and while that crown has since been passed to the buzzy SLS Miami, SBH is still my pick for where to stay. 10 minutes away from bustling South Beach, the quieter location feels a bit more like a real escape but the hotel maintains its cool. With two pools, a private beach, their heavenly outdoor restaurant Cicconi’s, plus a swank upstairs bar only open to club member’s or hotel guests—you have absolutely everything you need for a very hip Miami weekend. The rooms are done in a cozy Brit meets the beach style, with leather club chairs, vintage furniture, patterned floor tiles, and fun art. It all makes checking out that much harder.

THE RESTAURANT: The design district hotspot, Juvia boasts one of the most stunning views of the city from their 10,000 square foot penthouse space. Their bustling open kitchen turns out delicious French/Latin/Asian inspired dishes. But it is the glamorous design featuring purple banquettes, a vertical rainforest wall, and a floor-to-ceiling glass enclosed interior with an open kitchen that just won the James Beard Foundation’s Design award this year.

THE BAR: Whether it is to dine at the acclaimed Bazaar by Jose Andres or to grab a drink at the indoor/outdoor Hyde Lounge, or watch the South Beach scene in full swing, you have to experience the SLS when you’re in Miami. Sitting outside at Hyde under the buttonwood trees strewn with lights could not offer better people watching…or better mojitos.

THE CLUB: Nightlife trendsetter Amy Sacco is behind the intimate Rec Room at the very chic Gale Hotel.  Designed to look like a 1970s basement, the club could not be more fun. Unlike other Miami clubs, this one doesn’t take itself too seriously as DJs spin throwback tracks and everyone gets their boogie on.

THE SHOPPING: Located in a 1930s deco hotel, The Webster offers three floors of the most fabulous clothes you can imagine from designers such as Erdem, Proenza Schouler, Stella McCartney, and Carven. Plus, there is a cocktail lounge and a rooftop bar, which paired with all these great clothes, is a little bit dangerous.

THE SPA: The St. Regis at Bal Harbour feels incredibly grown up and sophisticated compared to South Beach. The hotel’s lovely Remède Spa shares the same serene and elegant vibe. Book one of the private outdoor spa cabanas to indulge in your treatment outdoors.

THE SECRET SPOT: The c. 1910 Vizcaya Estate is one of the most hauntingly beautiful places in Miami. The 18^th century Italian-influenced architecture, opulent rooms, Renaissance and French inspired formal gardens, and waterfront location offer a glimpse into a very elegant and glamorous time.

For more from Sara Bliss check out her blog http://hotelchicblog.com

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London

Hotel – I tend not to stay in hotels in London but Claridges was where I spent the first night of my honeymoon and I remember booking a room at the Savoy for Valentines Day which had been used by Monet to sketch the Thames. Both are grand, historical, sumptuous and beautiful. A surprise choice would be Shoreditch House in East London – it’s well priced, stylishly functional rooms come with access to the club for breakfast and the rooftop pool.

Shop – Aside from galleries, bookshops are places I love to spend time in and Cecil Court just off St Martin’s Lane is still the best place in the age of Amazon. My favourite shop used to be Red Snapper – I bought most of my Ballard collection from them and a whole host of Sixties psychedelic stuff. I still regret not buying an entire collection of Oz magazine, and now they’ve closed down. So instead, for well-priced modern first editions, Tindley and Chapman is the place to browse. The other really great antiquarian bookshop in London, out along the Fulham Road, is Peter Harrington.

Restaurant – Sheekeys always feels special and has a timelessness to it; St John’s remains a knock-out. The pig’s cheeks and bone-marrow are the stand-out dishes for me, but I’ll eat anything Fergus Henderson cooks, and he’s cooked pretty much all parts of most animals. My new discovery down in Bermondsey near White Cube’s new gallery is Pizzarro, a Spanish restaurant with seriously good food.

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Hong Kong

Hotel – I tend to stay at the Four Seasons because it’s right opposite the gallery and has a great view and a great pool but my favourite Hong Kong hotel is definitely the Upper House. There’s something unbelievably decadent and primal at the same time about lying in a bath looking out over a city, and every room has this possibility.

Restaurant – Sushi Sase on Hollywood Road is excellent, discreet and very accomplished, but for Cantonese food, which I have to eat in Hong Kong, the best I’ve yet encountered is the Tung Po Seafood Restaurant with it’s formica tables, plastic chairs, neon lighting, cacophanous noise verging on chaos and mountains of unbelievably tasty food. For some reason the soft shell crab sticks in my mind but not my throat – all of which makes it almost perfect.

Shop – I’ve not really done much shopping in Hong Kong, which is odd given its mercantile past. The Malls are substantial and have most of what you might need but are utterly soulless. Having said that, there’s a wonderful tailor called Jimmy who has a small outlet at Admiralty Mall who makes shirts for me that are as good as any I’ve ever bought. I’m fascinated by the cookery utensil shops but haven’t yet summoned the nerve to try and take a couple of meat machetes home in my luggage.

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Sao Paulo

Hotel – The best hotel in the city, some say in South America, is the Fasano and I’ve enjoyed the odd night there but by some twist of fate when the Fasano had overbooked they found me a room at the Unique and that’s where I now always stay. It’s faintly ludicrous – designed by Ruy Ohtake and looking like a vast hole-filled hammock from a distance, everything about it verges on being over-designed and yet it’s light and spacious and has the most wonderful (decent-sized) rooftop pool by which you can eat breakfast looking back over the city one way and over Ibirapuera Park the other.

Restaurant – It’s got to be those three letters currently at number six on the World’s Best Restaurant list – d.o.m. – where the chef Alex Atala justifies the hype and the price. I once lost part of a filling there but that was probably through eating with too much gusto rather than any reflection on the food. At the other end of the food chain, there’s an unremarkable looking coffee shop across the road from the Unique Hotel where I always buy a milky coffee and a pastry after a run in the park. Standing out in the sun by the awning there makes me almost as happy as eating a gourmet meal.

Shop – The stalls outside the Museum of Football at the legendary Estadio do Pacaembu are a must. When in Brazil, you buy football kit for your sons and nephews … well, I pretty well always do. Better still, go to a game and watch Corinthians.

www.whitecube.com

Pictures:

LONDON: White Cube Bermondsey, Jac Leirner, Cartoon nº 2 2012 Mixed media 48 1/16 x 14 9/16 x 3 9/16 in. (122 x 37 x 9 cm) © the artist currently on show at White Cube Bermondsey and Julie Mehretu, Mogamma, A Painting in Four Parts, 2012 Ink and acrylic on canvas 180 x 144 in. (457.2 x 365.8 cm) © the artist Photo: Ben Westoby, Courtesy White Cube and currently on show at White Cube Bermondsey, Claridges Hotel, J Sheekey’s restaurant and Peter Harrington Rare Books.

HONG KONG: Jake and Dinos Chapman, The Sum of all Evil, 2012-2013 Fibreglass, plastic and mixed media in four vitrines 84 5/8 x 50 11/16 x 98 3/8 in. (215 x 128.7 x 249.8 cm) © Jake and Dinos Chapman Photo: Ben Westoby Courtesy White Cube and currently on show at White Cube Hong Kong, the Upper House Hotel.

SAO PAOLO: Mark Bradford, Thievery by Servants, 2013, Mixed media collage on wood, frame, Overall dimensions: 118 x 358 in. (299.7 x 909.3 cm) 50 panels, each: 21 5/8 x 33 7/8 in. (55 x 86 cm) © Mark Bradford, Photo: Joshua White Courtesy Mark Bradford and  White Cube and currently on show at White Cube Sao Paolo, Unique Hotel Sao Paolo, and d.o.m. restaurant.

Brilliantly, she is on hand this week to steer us through the must sees and dos of our imminent Hong Kong art fair. Here are her top picks of what to visit during Hong Kong Art Basel, 2013.

The Gallery: Para/Site, Hong Kong’s non profit Art Space presents their exhibition A Journal of the Plague Year: Fear, ghosts, rebels. SARS, Leslie and the Hong Kong story. Tracing Hong Kong history and events since 2003, it contains works by Ai Wei Wei, Firenze Lai and Ming Wong among others.  www.para-site.org

The Debate:  Intelligence Squared Asia’s debate, “The Market is the Best Judge of Art’s Quality,” will be at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Friday 24 May, 6.30-8.00pm. www.intelligencesquaredasia.com

The Show:  Leung Chi Wo’s show Bright Light has Much the Same Effect as Ice is at the 2P Contemporary Gallery, 17 May – 11 June 2013, opening reception on Thursday, 23 May 2013 from 5pm – 8.30pm  www.2p-gallery.com

The Place: Hong Kong’s hottest new member’s club Duddell’s opens with the exhibition Face to Face, a show curated by Amelie von Wedel and Pernilla Holmes, exhibiting emerging and established artists from around the world that represents a rethinking of the traditional gentleman’s club friendly genre of portraiture. Duddell’s, 3F – 4F, 1 Duddell Street, Central, Hong Kong

The Party:  The Absolut Art Bar by Adrian Wong sees the Absolut Art Bureau collaborate with Hong Kong based artist Adrian to transform the basement of the Fringe Club in Central, Hong Kong into the place to go for your Art week cocktail pick me ups…      Absolut Art Bureau at Art Basel in Hong Kong Wun Dun: An Art Bar Installation by Adrian Wong 22–25 May

PIctures: Art Basel HK, Yana Peel, Intelligence Squared Asia, Ming Wong as part of Para/Site’s exhibition, Photo: Carlos Vasquez 2012, picture courtesy of the artist and the gallery, Leung Chi Wo as part of 2P Gallery’s show