The Goodtime Hotel – the first lifestyle hotel from David Grutman of Groot Hospitality and American musician, Pharrell Williams – has opened its doors on Miami Beach’s Washington Avenue and 6th Street.
Delivering an Art Deco aesthetic with a twist, the 266-room venue has been developed by real estate entrepreneurs, Michael D. Fascitelli and Eric Birnbaum of Imperial Companies, who assembled the full square block between 6th and 7th Streets, while New York City-based architect, Morris Adjmi, acclaimed interior designer, Ken Fulk, and landscape architect, Raymond Jungles were responsible for its incredible spaces, rooms and gardens.
“It took five years to bring our vision to life. The developers, Eric and Michael, saw the potential of this space. We wanted to create a product that stands apart and something that is unique to Miami Beach’s hospitality scene,” said David.
“The Goodtime Hotel promotes an active, balanced lifestyle of equal parts, happy pursuits and relaxed escapism, all within an everything-at-your-fingertips tropical oasis.”
Standing in a central, historic section of South Beach, The Goodtime Hotel features a corrugated facade, airy atrium, hand-painted hothouse murals and Deco plasterwork that recall the opulence and nostalgia of a time gone by, though this building has been entirely designed for the modern traveller. Its guestrooms range from individual queen bed accommodations to a handful of suites, with many rooms offering direct views west to Biscayne Bay or east to the Atlantic ocean.
The property is also home to David’s Strawberry Moon, a restaurant and 30,000 sq ft pool club serving up classic and casual Mediterranean fare as well as specialty cocktails for lunch and dinner – inside or poolside. The venue amplifies modern Miami’s crossroads of culture and energy, with Ken’s design concept tipping its hat to mid-century Caribbean and Central American resort towns, such as Havana and Acapulco in their throwback days. Elsewhere, there’s 45,000 sq ft of ground-floor retail, a gym with MyBeast and Peloton equipment, and a glossy peach-hued and natural oak-clad library for anything from coffee to cocktails, through to business meetings.
“My first hotel needed to break the mould,” explained David. “I wanted to provide the 360-degree Groot Hospitality experience that our other venues are known for, but add more. This is about providing a getaway within a town that’s already known as a vacation spot. When you arrive at the hotel and walk through our doors, it becomes a full-on experience; we want you to feel like your worries and anxieties have been left outside. I am proud to have worked with Pharrell, Michael, Eric and Ken on bringing this hotel to life.”
Pharrell added: “We want The Goodtime Hotel to impart a feeling of both revitalisation and that rare, exciting thrill that takes over when you discover something special. It’s that adrenaline-fuelled sensation of entering a whole new setting and mindset. This place will provide a natural good time, for all who come through.”
With so much attention paid to the hospitality and design of The Goodtime Hotel, the entertainment technology had to live up to its incredibly high standards – particularly with the events due to be hosted at the venue.
“The Pool at Strawberry Moon is the main gathering place in the hotel and where most of our day and night time events will happen from top headlining DJ sets to cocktail receptions, corporate functions and more,” added David.
“Coming from nightclubs and restaurants, my team and I are always looking for the best audio production possible to ensure that top headliners love coming to perform at our venues and that the guest experience is always great,” added David.
To ensure they had the best audio system in place right across the hotel, the owner’s representatives, The Imperial Group, enlisted the help of DAS Audio, who are currently celebrating 50 years in sound, and Electronic Designs, experts in the design, engineering and installation of professional audio systems for hospitality, nightlife and restaurants.
Jon Graney, President of Electronic Designs, takes up the story: “Through my work in the nightlife industry, I personally knew David Grutman. He’s opened a few restaurants that I’ve worked on with him, and then he’s now got involved with The Goodtime Hotel. He’s a real interesting character with a lot of celebrity friends – and, of course, this is how Pharrell is involved in the project.
“So, through the bidding process, we were ultimately hired by The Imperial Group, which meant I was working with Michael Hawkins, who is a joy to deal with.”
Working with DAS Audio’s Nightlife & Hospitality Design / Installation Specialist, John Fiorito, they provided an audio design for the entire hotel.
“We were given the opportunity to provide a design and bid through through Groot Hospitality. The owners of Imperial Group and Groot Hospitality stated they wanted a premier audio system with great clarity and coverage, as their pool was going to feature headliner DJs and be the new South Beach Party destination,” said John.
Jon explained further: “So, we presented the design to the owners and, like all projects, we had to justify our budget. Luckily, they really understood the importance of sound – and that’s really down to the type of hotel they want it to be. I mean, it’s called The Goodtime Hotel! It’s about music, having fun and good food, so that plays a big part in the atmosphere that we wanted to enhance.
When it came to the audio technology for the various areas within the hotel, it’s DAS Audio throughout, with control coming from BSS Audio.
Discussing the design, John went into more detail: “The entire hotel is wired in stereo with mono sub bass. The pool area has a lot of smaller speakers and all areas have a lot of coverage to reduce the risk of noise violations.
“The hotel features inside a combination of CL6TB ceiling speakers – both Quantum Series and Arco Series. The outdoor café and pool feature DAS Factor 8 IP54 and WR series. The DAS EP 4 channel amplifiers were selected because of the high power available, clarity, and affordability, backed with a five-year immediate replacement warranty. Elsewhere, Crest Pro-Lite amplifiers were used in less critical areas powering ceiling speakers.
“For the configuration, it’s processed by BSS Audio Blu 160, with an iPad used to offer control of every area of the venue.”
Jon added: “We started at the breezeway – that’s what they call the area where people walk in – then the valet, which has music playing through there. Of course, in the hotel, we did the lobby and elevators, too.
“One particularly great area is the library – a really cool-looking part of the hotel. We did a small, four-point system in there with a couple of subs and it sounds amazing. It’s a nice area for people to hang out and talk, plus they serve food, so it just needed to offer that low level audio quality. After that, we’ve got the indoor restaurant and outer café and, of course the pool area.
“We stayed within a certain budget and it worked out really well. We had to work with the City of Miami – they have commercial use permits, which were negotiated back in 2016. So, there were obviously constraints there. We couldn’t just build the loudest system possible as there are people across the street – we had to focus on creating a well-distributed, low, rich sound.”
With DAS Audio products used extensively, Jon explained why the Spanish manufacturers were the ideal fit for The Goodtime Hotel: “They do anything you ask. Honestly, anything for the customer! The five-year warranty is obviously a huge bonus – and that’s on outdoor loudspeakers. There’s none of the worry at all. If something were to go wrong, they’re there to help instantly – they see the big picture.
“They’re a fantastic, knowledgeable team to work with, too. If there’s any advice we need, they’re there to provide it – and the quality of the products speaks for itself. I mean, you could throw those outdoor loudspeakers into the pool and they’d still work! They really were the perfect fit.”
As is often the case with varied projects such as this, the process of installing the new, state-of-the-art audio system in the venue wasn’t without its challenges.
David explained: “During the pandemic, although our doors may have been closed, we didn’t stop. We used the downtime to evolve what our brand offers as we knew we wanted to open our doors as soon as we were able to, aligning with local restrictions being lifted.”
“One of the main challenges at The Goodtime Hotel was that there were a lot of custom fabrications made to hang speakers and get precise positions,” said John.
Jon furthered: “Well, one thing we had to talk the guys at the hotel into was building our rack room. We explained the reasons why and then, from there, we were built this impressive, air-conditioned room.
“GT McDonald were on top of everything when it came to that – it really is perfect for what we needed and you just know that it’s going to last forever.”
The new audio system has already been put to the test, too, and has passed with flying colours, as David explained: “We have had artists such as Black Coffee, Loco Dice and Annita come and perform at The Pool at Strawberry Moon and we’re proud to say that each have had a great experience thanks in part to the production and sound.”
Jon added: “David is really happy with the pool desk. In fact, I’ve had at least 20 people come by and tell me that it’s the best-sounding pool deck they’ve ever experienced. That’s incredible feedback to get.
“You know, it’s easy to get that tuning right when it’s empty, but once you put 1500 people in there, it’s totally different. So, we’ll keep coming back and do a little more tuning to ensure the performance is as good as it can be.
“There were big demands and high expectations for this project, especially when you consider the success that those involved have had within the nightclub industry. But, the collaboration between ourselves, DAS Audio, Imperial Group and GT McDonald made it work – I think we did pretty good!”
John was pleased with the way everyone on the team worked together, too: “As the designer for the sound system, I would like to say that GT McDonald and the owners rep, Michael Hawkins, were fabulous to work with. Michael is an extremely knowledgeable individual and, without him, this project would have never opened.
“Electronic Designs did a great job, too, particularly as this was their first hotel project – they listened and followed all directions. A very reputable company to work with.”
With its eye-catching design and high-end facilities – not to mention the vast experience in hospitality and entertainment behind the project – The Goodtime Hotel always needed an audio system to match right throughout the site. The special collaboration between those involved always meant that the sound quality would go above and beyond expectations – and, now, it’s the place to go in Miami.
“Everyone has their own energy and we wanted to give our guests a space where they can recharge and let loose. Come here and be a part of it! This is where you can come and genuinely have a good time,” concluded David.
