O

ur team of catering
experts have the combined
experience to orchestrate
all your social events.

rounded by gardens and attended by
waitresses bearing bottled water. Long
and narrow, the restored, 1940s Art
Deco hotel is low-key and romantic,
with the kind of service that brings
guests back, she says.
It's next door on upper Collins
Avenue to the ultra-cool Delano Hotel,
whose dreamy, elongated lobby with
billowing curtains, antiques and white-
on-white Philippe Starck decor could
double as heaven's waiting room. Out
back, past a phalanx of security guards,
guests — including celebrities such as
Harrison Ford, willowy ingenues and
wannabes — splash in a long, show-
piece pool set off by a little table and
. chairs in the middle. "I've never seen
so many gorgeous people in my life,"
Weissman says.
By night, the Bloomfield couples
dined casually, dropping by an interna-
tional smorgasbord of restaurants,
from the venerable Joe's Stone Crab, a
Miami classic, to trendy new spots
serving Asian, Italian, upscale Cuban,
Caribbean-influenced, New World and
fusion cuisine. "That's what's so cool
about it. You can pop in and have an
appetizer here, a drink there. And
everything's so pretty. There's great
attention to detail," she says.
An international entertainment hub
is spread along Ocean Drive or clus-
tered on Lincoln Road, an eight-block,
rehabilitated stretch of South Beach
real estate that has evolved in recent
years. The pedestrian-friendly prome-
nade is home to dozens of music and
TV production agencies, interspersed
with outdoor cafes, art galleries (includ-
ing ArtCenter South Florida), perform-
ing arts venues, funky boutiques and
tempting shops, among them Carefully
Chosen, featuring Judaica.
Several of the restaurants flaunt
celebrity cachet, namely Latin crooner
Ricky Martin's Casa Salsa (gourmet
Puerto Rican), Gloria Estefan's Larios
on the Beach (Cuban) and actress
Cameron Diaz's new Bambu (pan-
Asian). In a corner of Martin's ocean-
front eatery, for example, is an empty
table "Reserved for. Ricky Martin," in
case the superstar gets a hankering for
tuna in rum molasses sauce, lobster
mofongo or flan.
After grazing their way through
dinner, Weissman and her fellow
Detroiters danced and partied at

some of Miami's late-night clubs,
including Liquid and the Bar Room,
which she describes as "a wild, wild
place."
Having left Detroit early on a win-
try Thursday, they were swimming in •
their hotel pool before noon and did-
n't board the short flight home until
Sunday evening, making it a true
four-day weekend getaway "It was the
perfect vacation for us. We got a lot
of bang for the buck," she says.
In recent years, Miami Beach has
evolved into a four-season vacation
destination, welcoming more visitors
in the summer shoulder season, April
through September, than in the popu-
lar winter months just five years ago,
says Michelle Abram, spokesperson for
Greater Miami and the Beaches, which
tallied nearly 10 million visitors last
year. "That's the trend now We're
becoming a year-round destination
and attracting a more cosmopolitan
crowd."
Led by the new Loews Miami
Beach, the city's first big hotel boom
in nearly 20 years is underway and
projected to add nearly 8,000 new
rooms, many of them upscale. For
example, the Ritz-Carlton, South
Beach is taking shape, complete with
84 three-story poolside cabanas, on
the site of the former DiLido Hotel,
which is undergoing a $100-million
expansion and renovation.(Two other
Ritz-Can tons also are in the works
elsewhere in Miami).
The $38-million Miami Beach
Marriott at South Beach is scheduled
to debut this spring with 236 rooms,
beachfront pool, cabanas and an array
of water sports. Also under develop-
ment in South Beach are the $100-
million Bentley Beach Condo-Hotel
with 98 suites and a European-style
spa; and the Shore Club hotel with
325 rooms, two pools, spa, health club
and other amenities.
Still, much of SoBe's charm resides
in its collection of restored Art Deco
boutique hotels, such as Mery
Griffin's Blue Moon, an intimate
Mediterranean-style retreat that
opened in 1998 and added the
Cheeky Monkey restaurant last year.
Others include Island Outpost's chain
of six Deco delights that premiered
between 1991 and 1997: The Tides,
Marlin, Cavalier, Kent, Casa Grande

Our beautiful banquet and
dining rooms are available
for all occasions. Outside
catering also available.

*ON

.'linzentary Shuttle

LL major downtown events

Away
Ballroom dancing (Fri & Sat)

"bailee the Night

Compliiiu'ntary Buffet

„7„

RESTAURANT

Since 1948

alter the theater

CALL FOR RESERVATIONS (313) 832-1616 4222 SECOND AVENUE DETROIT

Act" fizzung
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Issue Date:
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Advertising Dieadline:
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