An elegant hotel-within-a-hotel, Nobu Hotel Miami Beach adds a serene Japanese flavor to the iconic Eden Roc.
One of the pleasures of planning events is having the chance to follow the development of some hotels from conception—and then be able to hold a meeting there. That was the case with Nobu Hotel Miami Beach, which is located within the famous Eden Roc Hotel. Eden Roc was the site of one of the first-ever Prevue Visionary Summits in March of 2016, and at that time our group was able to view renderings of the elegant reception desk, take a hard-hat tour of the construction site and have a sneak peek at a sample guest room.
We returned again this past April, holding our Strategic Meetings & Incentives Summit in the hotel’s elegant Penthouse meeting space, where the Japanese-inspired meeting rooms with names like Aozora (meaning “blue sky”) and Mizu (meaning “water”) and terraces overlook the crystal blue ocean. Total meeting space in the complex is 70,000 sf.
The best part is that after a day of dreaming about the ocean from a meeting room, it’s a short walk for attendees through the property and out the back gate to the Miami Beach Boardwalk and a gorgeous stretch of beach that’s much less crowded than in the South Beach area. And for planners, there are several outdoor spaces where groups can host events with ocean views. Our opening reception of 60 people was held on the exclusive spa terrace, which is tucked away on the roof of the Esencia Spa, but there are various lawns and terraces that can accommodate larger groups of up to 1,500.
The essence of the Nobu brand—a combination of modern luxury and minimal Japanese—is reflected in the 206 guest rooms, designed by David Rockwell, and featuring sleek wood furniture, lantern-style lighting, custom wall coverings of cherry tree blossoms and black and white photography of Japanese landscapes. The bathrooms themselves are a work of art, in themselves with grainy matte marble finishes, rainfall showers and Japanese teak benches.
A mark of an outstanding hotel is a check-in experience that leaves attendees feeling like they have arrived. At Nobu, guests are welcomed at a gorgeous private area within the massive Eden Roc lobby, as they are served tea and immediately made to feel like royalty. But perhaps the most outstanding feature of our meeting was the professionalism of the Nobu staff, from the servers to the reservations manager to the CSM. After all, that is what transforms a physical space into an unforgettable experience.
