A social experiment during a hotel stay…with a green glow as a backdrop? If it connects your clients with other hotel guests and immerses them in the destination, then it’s an experiment—green glow and all—of a good kind.
Step into the Stay Human Room at the Art Deco, oceanfront Kimpton Surfcomber, located on Collins Avenue in Miami Beach, and you’ve just stepped into Kimpton Hotel + Restaurants’ newest project…one that aims to “provide guests with a unique experience to forge meaningful ties with other guests and allow them to immerse themselves in the true fabric of each destination.”
The Stay Human Project is a guestroom series that transforms one premium room in 20 participating Kimpton properties into a one-of-a-kind activation that honors the hyper-local character of the surrounding neighborhood.
So what does that mean exactly, and what does it mean at the Miami Beach property specifically? Don’t worry…it seems quite cerebral, but it’s all about having loads of fun with your guestroom mate(s). I participated in the “experiment” with my family, and when the green glow from the neon #StayHumanProject sign hit us as soon as we walked in we knew this wouldn’t be your normal hotel stay (and we emerged having made fun memories). The suite at the Kimpton Surfcomber where they’ve staged the Stay Human Room is just stunning, with a spacious living room, roomy bedroom (comfy bed), a closet you can dance in, and gorgeous views from the spacious balcony overlooking the pool and the ocean off in the horizon…but we’ll get to that last one a little later.
Exploring the suite under the green glow and looking for the different activities that make up the Stay Human concept is so much fun: there’s a Cafecito Corner—a nod to the famous locally made Cuban espresso—where guests get a coupon that’s valid for one onsite Cuban cafecito; there’s the Photo Mood Station with an instant polaroid camera where guests snap photos throughout their stay and add them to the room’s photo album (half the fun of one’s stay is reading through previous guests’ experiences in the room); the Wall Art Station, for which guests are given a small canvas that they can paint however they wish, and which will result in one collective 4’ftx4’ft piece of art that’s hung inside the room—your clients don’t have to be Picasso and everyone will want to put their own colorful stamp on it; and the Community Playlist, a carefully crafted playlist on Spotify created by Kimpton’s director of music (we played around with this one quite a bit).
And that’s just the suite’s living room…in the bedroom, guests will find the Active + Relax Station, where guests are encouraged to partake in several activities in-room, poolside or on the beach, including yoga and meditation sessions, and there’s even a hula hoop (my kids loved that last one and twirled it about under the glow of the neon sign in the living room). And on the balcony, there’s the interactive herb garden, which relies on all of the guests’ care, and even more so on Miami’s temperamental weather. And one last activity, which we didn’t get a chance to try, is the Splash Cycle, an aqua cycling that’s available onsite and is complimentary for Stay Human guests.
So did we get off our screens—which I personally think is one of the main goals of the Stay Human Project? Indeed, passing the time by participating in the immediate world around us, with all four of us painting on the canvas, taking silly photos of ourselves, and playing around with the playlist. Of course, being Miami locals, we also had our afternoon cafecito. The herb garden on the balcony is a lovely idea, but we were pulled to the balcony more for the people-watching at the pool area as well as the sunrise over the Atlantic.
Outside the four walls of the Stay Human Room, the Kimpton Surfcomber is delightful. We spent the day at one of the poolside cabanas, located on a beautiful, verdant section of the pool complex, and the service was phenomenal (there are pool butlers, fruit platters, chaise lounges and when your clients want to step out of the sun, a nice shade, without being very hot, inside the cabana. We saw so many hipster families running around, too, having a great time. Families, you ask, at the Kimpton Surfcomber? Yes, the property is going after this important segment, so don’t think of the property as party central—it’s now catering to family fun, but one that still is ideal for adults who don’t mind kids’ laughter.
The laid-back onsite restaurant, The Social Club, located right off the lobby, is great for brunch, with goodies like cinnamon toast crush waffle; Everything bagel and smoked salmon; old school eggs Benedict; fresh pressed juices; and “boozy brunch” cocktails.
For more information on Kimpton Surfcomber, visit surfcomber.com.
