The design-led, luxury lifestyle brand has taken over the site with immediate effect, with the hotel now representing the third for the brand in Florida, as it already operates two W hotels in south Florida - W Fort Lauderdale and W South Beach.
California-based Viceroy Hotel Group previously operated the 148-room hotel at 485 Brickell Avenue in downtown Miami, part of the 10-acre bayfront Icon Brickell complex known for its dramatic two-acre infinity pool with interiors designed by Kelly Wearstler.
The Viceroy Miami was bought for $64.5 million by Al Rayyan Tourism Investment Company (ARTIC), the international hotel investment and hospitality subsidiary of Al Faisal Holding Company, one of Qatar’s largest private industry groups; Viceroy also recently stopped managing Viceroy Anguilla, a hotel it had been involved with since it opened.
The purchase brings ARTIC closer to achieving its aim of opening 75 hotels by 2020. The three-building complex in Miami was originally designed by Arquitectonica and with the new ownership comes cutting-edge renovations, including a ‘W Living Room’ on the hotel’s 15th floor and glamorous 50th floor rooftop with cocktail lounge, WET deck and views across Biscayne Bay.
Talking about the new opening, Anthony Ingham, global brand leader, W Hotels Worldwide, said: “Miami is a destination made for W, from emerging designers and graffiti artists to the incredible music scene. We’re excited to re-imagine this property as a W right in the heart of Miami.”
