Nothing Says Miami Beach Like the Fontainebleau

I spent most of this trip to Miami Beach body surfing in the ocean--right outside the hotel's back gate--and drinking cocktails by the pool.  On my last night, though, I left the hotel alone around midnight and headed, with camera in hand, down the street to the Fontainebleau Hotel. 

As a teenager I'd spent many hours with my best friend, Heidi, sneaking into the Fontainebleau pool on weekends and during the summer.  Pool hopping along Collins Avenue was the weekend sport of choice in our day; and in the years that followed, my younger brother did the same with his friends.  It was a rite of passage if you grew up here.  We lived for the diving board--gone now--and for those forbidden jaunts through the lobby in wet bikinis, heading to the elevators with some mischief in mind.

You'll find a short history of Miami Beach and of the Fontainebleau here:

http://www.fontainebleau.com/web/discover/history

My final night at this famed hotel turned into a couple of hours of shooting--and at the end of it, I rewarded myself with a cognac and some reflections on the past.  The Fontainebleau I knew as a kid was nothing like what you see here; it was the magic of another era.  Today, it weaves an entirely different enchantment, and I couldn't bear to leave the Beach without documenting its current incarnation.

All of these shots were taken in the hotel's lobby and lounge.

  

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

  

 

Comments

[Lee Renninger]

Yes..it's an amazing place! On my next visit, I plan to take some daytime photos as well and not spend all my time in the ocean!

[Fontainebleau Miami]

Fontainebleau Miami Beach is known for the crescent moon kind of design. The pool is an amazing place in the hotel to relax and enjoy beautiful landscape.