General manager David Cronin describes the Stanton South Beach as “a boutique-style, oceanfront hotel located directly on the beach in the prestigious South of Fifth neighborhood within walking distance to all the top attractions in South Beach.”
The South of Fifth neighborhood where the Stanton, part of the Marriott Hotels & Resorts porfolio, is located has, in fact, experienced a huge facelift in the last few years. What was once a kind of dead-zone, is now a neighborhood with luxury condos, boutique hotels, and well-known restaurants that are packed year-round with both locals and tourists, and it’s a perfect setting for a South Beach getaway.
a new stanton
The low-key, 224-room Stanton—which features eight suite accommodations—has recently undergone a few makeovers, from pool renovations to room upgrades, and a touch-screen elevator kiosk, but the property has even more to check off its “to-do” list.
Additional refurbishments—which will be complete in late 2016—include three new restaurants and two new bars, a redesigned lobby area and pool terrace, and changes to the in-room closets, the spa, and the fitness center. The new restaurants will include a Mexican restaurant, an American brasserie, and a Japanese restaurant featuring a secret, speakeasy-style sushi bar complete with a private entrance and seating space for an exclusive
group of 16.
But don’t dismiss booking guests here until early next year. Although refurbishments are on-going, guests can still relax at the two infinity pools, the outdoor massage areas, and the outdoor cabanas, lounge chairs and sofas. The pool deck offers a cascading waterfall behind the lounge chairs on one side, and on the other, a grassy area with more lounge chairs to keep guests cool, even under the South Florida sun.
The renovated guestrooms offer a peaceful retreat with white walls, marble tile floors, white bedding, and tan and orange accents throughout. The bathrooms are spacious, and the design on the shower partition allows guests to set the perfect water temperature before jumping into a shower with not one, but two shower heads—a rainforest shower head and a European-style shower head.
When your clients need to squeeze in some beachtime, Stanton offers a designated area with umbrellas, beach chairs (for an additional fee), and buckets and toys for kids. The property also offers guests fruit-infused water by the lobby and near the pool to keep sun-bathers hydrated, but if something with a bit more of a party kick is what guests are lusting after, the hotel offers complimentary mojitos daily from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
drink, eat, play, repeat
Though South Beach offers guests plenty to do only steps outside the hotel, let us suggest a few of the activities we participated in while staying at Stanton.
First, for your cocktail-loving clients, suggest they head over to Wynwood (about a 10-minute drive over the causeway) to the Miami Club Rum distillery. Here they can learn about the history of this local spirit, which is infused with Latin beats—that means there will be salsa or merengue playing as the rum ferments in the barrels. (Those on-property mojitos we mentioned earlier are made with Miami Club Rum.)
If wine is what they’re after, the wine cellar at RED, Steakhouse (only a 4-minute walk from Stanton) is a sight to see—it’s definitely a photo-op. And the food, well, I tasted just about everything on the menu and I can’t recommend my favorite dish because every morsel was oh so delicious. If your guests have trouble deciding, chef/owner Peter Vauthy, can suggest one of his specialties.
Burning off those calories will be a cinch. Just refer your clients to a paddleboarding lesson or tour with F1rst Surf Shop, located walking distance from the hotel (guests can sign up for an outing at the hotel’s concierge). It’s not only fun, but a total workout as well. There’s a sunken Jose Cuervo bar a few feet from shore that’s a cool spot to check out as it functions as a man-made reef.
contact information
Stanton South Beach: (305) 536-7700; marriott.com/hotels/travel/miamb-marriott-stanton-south-beach or travelagents.marriott.com/travelagents/signin.mi
