Update, 3/14/24: This hotel will close on 3/25 for renovations and is slated to reopen in the 4th quarter of this year!
Originally posted on 5/5/22:
Hyatt has long been weak in Miami Beach, though it was buoyed when the Confidante joined the brand as part of the brand’s Unbound Collection of hotels.
The mid-beach hotel used to be my favorite use of Hyatt card anniversary nights before it went up from a category 4 to 5 earlier this year, now costing 17K-23K points per night.
The 339 room hotel has now been sold for $232 million and will reflag under Hyatt’s luxury lifestyle Andaz brand after a $60 million renovation.
The renovation work will be done in phases starting in the 4th quarter of 2022 and the completion and reflagging is expected in the first half of 2024. The hotel will remain open during the renovation.
The renovation will see the lobby moved for an oceanview check-in experience, reinvigorating the pool and backyard recreation area, modernizing the guestrooms, and expanding the suite mix.
On the one hand, it’s too bad that Hyatt will be losing an affordable Miami Beach option, but on the other hand unlike Hilton, IHG, and Marriott, Hyatt still has an award chart so it will be capped for how many points it will cost per night. That’s great for a Miami Beach luxury hotel, which can be prohibitively expensive during high season!
Alas, the days when Miami’s trendy kosher scene was found in the mid-beach area, as it was a decade ago, are long gone. That has migrated north to the Surfside area, where Marriott dominates the market with the Residence Inn Surfside, S. Regis Bal Harbour, and Ritz Carlton Bal Harbour. I’m scared to think about how many points the latter luxury properties will cost starting next year when Marriott points go fully variable.
I’d guess that the Andaz hotel will be a category 7 after the reflagging, costing between 25K-35K points per night, though both category 6 (21K-29K points) or 8 (35K-45K points) are also possibilities.
Are you excited or disappointed about this development?
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41 Comments On "Hyatt’s Confidante Miami Beach Will Become Andaz Miami Beach!"
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Eh. The area is no longer desirable
Disappointed. The cat 4 property (until it switched to 5) was a breath of fresh air in that area.
Yes, but that ship sailed earlier this year. Had it still been a 4, this news would have been much more disappointing.
Excited that there finally redoing it stayed there pretty old and amenities pool to small for a huge hotel, but it was a cheap decent option
Do they have the space to make a bigger pool?
Ya, for some reason, they have two small pools (kids and adults only). But either way, they have a large outdoor area to work with, provided that zoning, etc.. allows it.
Pool area will be “reinvigorated.”
I guess we’ll see what that means.
Agreed. Used to stay there before Hyatt bought it, when it was called The Thompson. Was a great hotel but slowly started to show its age and service also went downhill.
They have a weird double pool situation which could be turned into a normal sized pool. Maybe add a bridge over the pool for easier access to the beach
I cant ever think of it as anything other than the Crown Hotel. Stayed there in the 80s. Had full shabbos meals, a shop in the basement that sold Macabee frozen pizza made in a toaster oven. Great memories.
Yessir! I still remember Moshe chaim Berkowitz.
“Crown Dairy Bar, open for lunch”
Or the Eden Roc on shveiy shel Pesach.
We never had the money for thr Eden Roc or Fountainbleau. But, that never stopped me from sneaking into the tea rooms and swimming pool
And don’t forget the Saxony Hotel.
The amount of food the Saxony served was insane!!!!
Hyatt is not capped at all. Individual hotels will often hike up the points required, and in high dollar season, will not allow points reservations, taking cash only reservations for those times. I know this, as I use hyatt miles often
Hyatt miles lol
Hyatt nights are capped and they publish an award chart.
Upset about this since the Confidant was affordable especially with the free night pre latest valuation
As a side note the Residence Inn Surfside will be undoubtedly be the most expensive Residence Inn in the world.
Check the Residence Inn Maui. $1K per night rates.
I stayed there as a Globalist 2 days after they had rebranded Hyatt. It was kind of fun. They had no idea what to do with me. They knew that I got a breakfast benefit, and they told me it included an entrée and a drink. Well, the drinks included these $10 smoothies. Plus, this was before Hyatt cracked down on how many people received the benefit. So myself, and my entire family, all ate off of that breakfast, because we were in a 2 bedroom connecting suite. The bill for breakfast daily far eclipsed the amount that I actually paid for the nightly rate, so I loved it. I am happy that it is staying in the family. I kind of liked the night club vibe walking past the pool at night. It worked well as an Unbound, but I imagine it will do just fine as an Andaz, but the vibe at the Andaz’s that I have stayed at is more, IDK, posh? Let’s hope it doesn’t lose it’s vibe.
Huge bummer. I loved that place when I went in January. Was great value.
A big disappointment! I’ve gone at least once the past 4 years as it was a great deal.
My take is that this is bad news all around. This hotel, as many properties in this location, was unique and quirky– a perfect fit for the Unbound Collection. By converting it into an Andaz, Hyatt will almost certainly remove any charm and replace it with a very commercial/modern vibe. Secondly, for frum people, this property at 15k points was a steal, especially using upgrade certificates. Even now, as a Cat 5, it’s fairly decent. But it if increases to a 6 or a 7, any value goes out the door. At those prices, I can stay at much better locations (even the Bahamar is only a 5)!
If it becomes a true luxury $1,000/night property, there’s still plenty of value at category 7/8. Just not for the same consumer as before.
This would be worse news if it were still a category 4.
Based on the location, I don’t see how it could become a $1k a night property (other than during special events). Those are found further south. And it would be worse news if it was a cat 4, but we’re all still digesting the increase to a level 5. That’s relatively new. So if it jumps from a 4 to an 8, it will have doubled in only a couple of years.
I’m not expecting an 8, but it really boils down to what rates they expect to command there, which will be based on how luxurious they can make it.
Yes! Baha Mar in the Bahamas is an incredible value considering it has kosher on prem. When my wife and I wanted to get away for a few days, we ended up in Baha Mar because it was cheaper than Miami Beach!! Flights were about the same to both locations.
What is the time line? I have a reservation that I used certificates for in September.
Added to the post.
After staying there a half-dozen times I can vouch that service there has deteriorated significantly. Rooms with broken light fixtures, filthy elevators, and indifferent staff. As a Globalist I would look forward to staying and getting VIP treatment; now it’s as if they’ve shuffled loyal clientele to the back of the line.
I had a much better experience at the Hyatt Centric in Fort Lauderdale.
Fact is, all properties are becoming overly pricey points and $ wise. Too exclusive of a reach for many families. Luxury amenities isn’t really what many are about. We just want access to a nice place in a nice area at a fair rate. Making that 2x+ more expensive by adding whatever bells and whistles for same access is pretty crummy.
I think they should make 1 huge pool lagoon style like in Hyatt Puerto Rico, also all hotels came so expensive in Surfside in prime winter grand beach is almost 1k
I was just there for a business conference. Pools are smallish, though midweek, they were pretty quiet whenever I saw. Lobby and outside pool bar were pretty nice. Rooms ok – pretty standard mid price Hyatt feel. They also have an entire floor set aside for meeting rooms, which is the draw for the corporate crowd, as apperently, that’s not common in Miami Beach. Curious if that stays when it’s an andaz.
The paid rates when I was there were pretty high, so I agree the value prop with points is still there despite it being a cat 5 now.
They shud of bought the former four points or similar property on the same block and let us have TWO hyatt options in Miami Beach.
Disappointed
I have 500.000 marrriot points,shall I sell them now ?
No.
We loved the confidante when we stayed there. We had a suite upgrade and it was like staying a 1 room apartment. Loved the decor.
Polish a turd its still a turd. Nothing they can do to that hotel will make it better.
Those who spent time in Miami over the decades will remember that this property was The Crown hotel that has hosted many many kosher and frum programs, meals, Pesach Seders and more, especially amongst my grandparents’ Holocaust survivor generation.
I remember spending time here throughout the 90s with my family, and hundreds (possibly thousands) of other frum Jews of all kinds over Pesach.
I certainly miss it. The. Crown, Saxony, Sans Souci, Carribean, Versailles. What amazing memories. I guess we live in the era of resort fees and $12 lattes.