Tommy Hilfiger, a fashion designer, is going to renovate Raleigh Hotel in Miami Beach and turn it into a private club. So the rumor that Hilfiger is selling the hotel he bought for $56.6 million in 2014 is not right after all.
"We've had numerous people approach us asking us to sell it. Other hoteliers wanted to buy it within a week of my purchase," said Hilfiger. "I considered it for a moment."
But Hilfiger wants to pursue his original plan with the 80-plus-room hotel which has a full booking through April 30. In May, it will be closed for renovations for about 18 months, "bring it up to its original glory and keepings its DNA and its heritage intact."
Hilfiger, together with wife Dee Ocleppo who sat next to a real estate investor, has signed the deal at an Aby Rosen dinner at Art Basel. "Two years ago, we went to Art Basel to buy art and ended up with a hotel," said Hilfiger, as reported by Page Six news.
The success of Soho House inspired Hilfiger to make plans to open other Releigh clubs in Los Angeles, New York and London.
According to the Miami New Times report, the historic Raleigh Hotel in South Florida is about to become more stylish after Tommy Hilfiger purchased it in April 2014 with plans to renovate the place into a private club. The Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board approved the plan of Hilfiger and his partners to go through with the renovations.
The plan includes to still rent out the hotel rooms, but the number of rooms will be downsized from the current 105 to just 87. The extra space that will be created will be used as a private social club to rival the members-only Soho Beach House in mid-Beach.
According to the Real Deal, there was no mention of a timeline as to how long the renovations will take, when the hotel will re-open, or when the private club will start processing applications.