The Marlin Hotel, once a joint for Jay-Z, Pharrell Williams and Aerosmith, disclosed its new look Wednesday. Gone is the Caribbean-hip vibe that British designer Barbara Hulanicki conveyed to the Marlin when it was owned by Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, and the extra style that supplanted it after Blackwell sold the hotel in 2004. Island records sealed the deal with reggae music's iconic singer Bob Marley.
MRK Investments, which purchased the Marlin the previous spring for $9.5 million, has conveyed an upgraded Deco style to the hall that reviews the hotel's 1939 conception and an ancient dragon character to the new Asian-inspired restaurant called BaZi, that is operated by the same team that managed Macchialina Taverna Rustica in Miami Beach. The lounge area is enriched in warm tones and delicate lighting, reminiscent of a scene out of the Sean Penn/Madonna motion picture Shanghai Surprise.
The current 14 rooms have been renovated with wood floors and nonpartisan tones. Another 18 suites will be built this coming year, incorporated with spaces that once held office spaces, Blackwell's penthouse and the well-known South Beach Studios where Aerosmith and other iconic music figures once recorded their songs.
That musical past won't vanish through and through, said Flor Rivas the hotel manager. Memorabilia will enhance the lobby that once prompted the studio. Rivas explained that they would prefer not to disregard the building's musical history or abandon it as part of the past.