A historic South Beach hotel that helped anchor the neighborhood’s Art Deco revival has been sold for $16.5 million after nearly four decades under the ownership of the Goldman family.
The Tony Hotel South Beach, formerly known as the Tiffany Hotel, was acquired in an off-market transaction by an entity connected to French hotel operators Philippe Le Guennec and Benjamin Debard.
The buyers plan a multimillion-dollar renovation while preserving the historic character of the property at 801 Collins Ave., according to PROFILEmiami.
Transaction reports describe the hotel as a 52-room property and say the new owners have leased a neighboring Ocean Drive building that could accommodate 21 additional rooms. The hotel’s website currently lists 74 rooms.
The plans also call for Wish Café to be replaced by a restaurant concept that has not yet been announced. The hotel’s rooftop pool and bar, which overlook the Atlantic Ocean, are among its signature features.
Le Guennec and Debard expanded their Miami Beach holdings last year with the $43.5 million purchase of the Kimpton Angler’s Hotel.
The patio court at the historic Tiffany Hotel, 801 Collins Ave. in Miami Beach, before the property was renamed The Tony Hotel South Beach.
Historic American Buildings Survey/Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
The Tony Hotel was designed by prominent Miami Beach architect L. Murray Dixon and opened in 1939 as the Tiffany Hotel. Its streamlined curves, window “eyebrows,” tower and rooftop Tiffany spire reflect the Art Deco style that defines much of South Beach.
Goldman Properties acquired the hotel for $550,000 in 1986, when developer and preservationist Tony Goldman was helping lead the revival of a then-declining South Beach. Fashion designer Todd Oldham later helped renovate the property in 1998.
The hotel was renamed The Tony Hotel South Beach in 2022 in honor of Goldman, who died in 2012. Goldman also played a major role in transforming Wynwood and creating Wynwood Walls.
Jessica Goldman Srebnick said the sale marked an emotional transition for the family. Goldman Properties continues to own and develop properties in Wynwood.
Susan Gale of Gale International at ONE Sotheby’s International Realty represented both sides of the transaction.