Beyond further overhaul of its interior and exterior, a cross-street entrance with an old-school door will seduce the after-dark crowd through an urban kitchen concept into Vesper. Menin cautions me to watch my step as we venture through an under-construction American brasserie, whose rich brown and brass approach whispers dark and sexy, and into more added space, including a café and grand ballroom. Beachfront, an infinity-edge pool, glass sundeck, and rebuilt 40s bubble staircase (“Art deco flair with a modern twist.”) will meet the boardwalk, inviting visitors to Lucy’s Cantina Royale. “The idea is fun, not so serious. We’re taking down the hedges, putting up a surf shack where you can paddleboard, surf, rollerblade, do whatever you want.”
“When was the last time you played tetherball?” Menin asks me sitting in what will become the lobby bar. My child-eyes light up. “You can come here, play a game of tetherball, grab a fish taco, and chill in a cabana on the beach. Everywhere you go it’s the $16-drink, $22-sandwich, pretty pool thing. I want something different. A ‘let’s hang all day’ impression.” Once its multi-million-dollar facelift is complete, an iconic hotel will be reborn, keeping its old Hollywood glamour. “You’ll come back in six months and won’t recognize the place.” He goes on to describe The Shelborne of tomorrow as, “Art Deco 40s fast-forwarded to 2011, with swagger.” The invincibility of the new property mirrors Menin’s own ethics. Developing a hotel takes an oversized personality with omnipotent powers to create a physical and psychological ersatz for escape where people eat, sleep, work, and play.
Practically growing up in hotels, Menin learned the hospitality industry as a teenager working his summers on a very different yet vital constituent of The Shelborne. “This place is special to me. When you work the front desk at sixteen in an oversized vest, you never dream of one day owning it.” While other soon-to-be-graduates at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration were securing their places at impending banks, Menin began to design and build his first hotel at 1745 James Avenue. “James Avenue before there was a James Avenue. Before Casa Tua,” Menin says. “I think I was the only employee. There was no staff; it was just me running every part of the hotel. I had just come out of Cornell thinking I knew everything, didn’t know much.”
What he did know was enough for Menin to introduce Keith Menin Hotels (KMHotels) Worldwide; develop Sanctuary South Beach at just 21; sit at Chicago O’Hare people-watching for a day before turning the Windy City’s Hotel Rafaelo into Rafaello; and return to South Beach to become Morgans Hotel Group’s first outside partner, together closing a $190 million deal on the Mondrian South Beach, also recently purchasing The Bentley Hotel South Beach. “It’s all about drive,” he says of his success. Growing up in Miami Beach, Menin is now a direct contributor to the city’s growth.
“My life is what I do. I go to St. Bart’s with the family for Christmas; take the boat out on weekends; I love to travel and experience other hotels. I like to see what other cultures are doing to create fun. Everyone’s giving their hotels themes: The Setai, Asian; The Delano, Philippe Starck…I just want something different; appealing to locals, open to visitors, people who want to have a good time.” The man behind the born again property is one who puts hospitality in the hospitality industry. Menin has his hands in an array of business ventures, but hotels are his passion leaving us wondering what’s next for The Shelborne? For Keith Menin? “A lot of surprises,” he teases.
The new Shelborne will be a symbol of historic art deco, better than it was before, leaving nothing to be desired. Menin is planning on adding an open, two-story glass penthouse with an outdoor deck. Time may change the $15-penthouse into a $5,000-per-night decadence, but essence is never lost. Everything new is ‘Borne, and this rebirth is Menin made. As he walks me out of the hotel’s entrance he throws in mention of his new restaurant concept across the street, like oh yeah, that one too. “Hopefully in fifteen years, I’ll have fifteen properties.” And he is on the lookout to establish an eponymous Menin hotel. “It just has to be the right one.”
The Shelborne | 1801 Collins Avenue | Miami Beach, FL 33139 | 800.327.8757 | 305.531.1271 | www.shelborne.com
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February 18, 2011Miami Boat Show
