Whitewall and Ruinart champagne held a reception at The Betsy South Beach last week during Art Basel Miami Beach. The new luxury hotel opened in March of 2009 and sits right across from the ocean on South Beach’s Ocean Drive. It’s tropical colonial façade, 61 rooms, lobby lounge, bar, and restaurant (Laurent Tourondel’s steakhouse BLT) were all designed by architecture firm Beilinson-Gomez and interior designers Diamante Pedersoli and Carmelina Santoro. The lobby has a transportive, old world feeling with antique globes, safari paraphernalia, potted palms, natural fiber rugs, and colonial-style fans. Guestrooms are finished with black walnut floors, poster beds, and white lacquered cabinetry. Artworks by Richard Bluestein, Bobby Sager, and Jill Furmanovsky are hung throughout The Betsy. B Bar fits in with the hotel’s theme, becoming a swank spot to order a martini or gimlet (it feels only fitting).
The open restaurant, bar, lobby lounge and expansive porch were designed specifically to bring back the tradition of the salon and The Betsy maintains a cultural program which Whitewall and Ruinart had the pleasure of participating in last week. On Thursday December 2, 2010, Whitewall debuted its winter issue featuring Bruce Weber, Marc Newson, Zaha Hadid and many others. Ruinart also presented a pop-up exhibition, “10 Artists for Ruinart” that will stay at The Betsy through January 2011. Currently on display are commissioned works by 10 emerging contemporary artists interpreting Ruinart. The 10 works are by Isaac Fortoul, Carrie Sunday, Kiki Valdes, Johnny Robles, Melissa Ayr, Pascal, Trish Williams, Mark Leibowitz, Dane Storrusten, and Elijah Blue. Those works will be auctioned in New York in the spring of 2011 to benefit the nonprofit, The Art of Elysium, which supports the creativity of young people with serious medical conditions.
Mark Leibowitz, Ruinart Poppin Bottles, 30 x 36 inches, courtesy of Ruinart.
The evening was a total success, with guests sipping Ruinart champagne, flipping through Whitewall’s latest issue, viewing the artwork on display, and enjoying the unique atmosphere of The Betsy.
All event photos by Erica Simone.
