East, Miami

Anchoring the city’s sparkling Brickell City Centre is EAST, Miami. The 352 guest rooms exude calm, thanks to natural woods, abstract ocean art, and mesmerizing skyline views framed by floor-to-ceiling windows. Book a table at Quinto La Huella, the first U.S. branch of a revered seaside parrilla in Uruguay.

In Miami, I used to always stay on South Beach. Given that I spend a lot of time in New York, I wanted to see what Miami‘s urban spaces had to offer. I chose to stay at the new EAST Miami. EAST, Miami opened in late 2016 as part of the sparkling new Brickell City Centre. The 352-room tower became my urban home for two nights and I instantly fell in love with my sky-high suite. I was on the 32nd floor and it allowed me to see the city from a whole new perspective. I had a wraparound balcony that shared how vast and exciting Miami is. From one angle I saw Miami’s adventurous side with jet ski’s zipping along the bay towards Key Biscayne. On the other side, I saw downtown’s urban metropolis under the sun as it set. For anyone that stays at EAST, they’ll be blown away by the view from the moment that they walk into the room. With floor-to-ceiling windows and a jacuzzi tub that looks out at the skyline, you discover a new sense of luxury in city that’s already saturated with high-end accommodations. Given the location, I anticipate a fair amount of business travelers at this property, but unlike other downtown hotels, EAST offers swanky vibes that you’d desire during a leisure trip too. The balcony’s are must-do for creative Instagram posts and the resort-style pool has plenty to offer for those looking to escape winter and avoid the South Beach crowd. The hotel has many nods to the community in Miami, including the locally-acclaimed coffee shop, Panther, which is served in room, in addition to Jojo tea. The hotel’s eateries also invite locals. The dining room at Quinto La Huella brings the South American parilla tradition to Miami. The indoor/outdoor dining room is warm and inviting as servers walk through the space setting the vibe with flaming sage. The food was fantastic. I tried the ribeye with chimichurri, sweetbreads and filet of hake a la plancha. They also serve a variety of pizzas, pasta and a full brunch buffet. I would suggest heading to Sugar afterwards. If EAST did anything right, it’s adding Sugar to the downtown scene. It seems like Miami had no rooftop bar until Sugar came along. Filled with beautiful people and great music, it’s the Miami scene that you might find on South Beach - just 30 floors up.