Aztec Group debuts Midtown hotel in time for Super Bowl
Coconut Grove-based Aztec Group is best known for financing real estate — often with its own money. But in recent years, the firm has become a hotel developer.
It’s latest lodging: the AC Hotel by Marriott Miami Midtown at 3400 Biscayne Blvd., opened this month.
“We like the hotel business,” said Aztec’s managing director, Boaz Ashbel. “When it came to hotels in our local community, we thought we had an expertise we can lend.”
Though it was founded in 1981, Aztec didn’t begin developing until 2013. It’s first hotel project was the Hyatt Place Miami AirportEast. It has developed or co-developed four Miami hotels, including Hyatt Centric Brickell Miami and the Hampton Inn & Suites Miami Midtown, which neighbors the AC Hotel.
Both Ashbel and the hotel’s architect — Kobi Karp, of Kobi Karp Architecture & Interior Design — believe the hotel’s multifaceted façade and other design features will distinguish it from others in the area.
“We felt that this could pay homage to the MiMo architecture on Biscayne Boulevard,” Karp said.
He pulled inspiration from historic buildings in Edgewater, including the Bacardi complex that is the home of the National YoungArts Foundation.
“It creates an opportunity for people to come and stay in a neighborhood where normally they would not,” Karp said. “The cool Instagrammable hotels are bringing back people to cool neighborhoods. I think that’s what this hotel does.”
The hotel is fully booked for Super Bowl week, cashing in with rates between $750 and $1,000 per night.
Daily rates in February and March are expected to range from $275 to $345 per night.
Rebecca San Juan: 305.376.2160, @rebecca_sanjuan