The Allison Hotel, designed by architect A. Herbert Mathes and built in 1951 according to the city's historic district designation report (we check these things) is soft opening after its extensive renovation/restoration December 16th as the Hilton Cabana Miami Beach, according to HotelChatter. (HotelChatter also says the building is deco, which is not true. It's Mimo, punks) It's on the ocean at 62nd Street and Collins in North Beach. Renderings (sorry, they're slightly grainy) show a high ceilinged lobby with big translucent columns around the check-in desk, a brightly blue painted lanai or pergola type area with hanging couches for lounging and swinging, a long broad hallway that smacks of Dorothy Draper with black and white stripes and big round chairs, and one of those restaurants that looks like a warehouse in Brooklyn.
The Hilton doesn't seem to have a facade rendering, so hopefully a screenshot from Google StreetView (after the jump) will suffice to show that the hotel does have some great architectural swagger. HotelChatter says the hotel is "way north", which is true if your world solidly revolves around South Beach. It is, however, in a neighborhood of faded early postwar hotels that could definitely use a fancy new hotel like itself to compete with. A little "keeping up with the Joneses" competition never hurt anybody, did it? That means you Casablanca Hotel and Sherry-Netherland, it's time to up your games a little.
UPDATE: The Hilton Cabana Miami Beach website says they are accepting reservations beginning December 15.
· The Hilton Cabana Miami Beach will open on December 16th. [HotelChatter]
· Hilton Cabana Miami Beach [Hilton]