The Goodtime Hotel MIAMI BEACH For his latest production, Pharrell Williams partners with David Grutman to create a playful bolthole inspired by the Art Deco era. Words: Ben Thomas • Photography: © Alice Gao
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inger, songwriter, record producer, fashion designer, and entrepreneur – Pharrell Williams has many strings to his bow. The musical great, who rose to fame after
forming hip-hop and R&B production duo The Neptunes in the early 1990s, has gone on to achieve countless milestones in his career, not least winning 13 Grammy Awards, becoming an Oscar nominee and working with the likes of Jay-Z, Daft Punk and Snoop Dogg to produce era-defining sounds. Now, the creative doyen is trying his hand as a hotelier, partnering with nightclub magnate David Grutman, real estate developers Michael D. Fascitelli and Eric Birnbaum,
and American designer Ken Fulk to dream up a Wes Anderson-esque bolthole in Miami’s Art Deco district. But this isn’t the debut single for Williams, Grutman and Fulk in The Magic City. Having banded together three years ago to create the candy-coloured interiors for F&B hotspots Swan and Bar Bevy, the artistic trio have added a bonus track in the form of The Goodtime Hotel, concocting a hedonistic sanctuary that dances eloquently between haven and playground. As the name suggests, it’s all about generating a positive experience, or what Williams calls “spiritual Wi-Fi.” “We want to impart a feeling of both revitalisation and that rare, exciting thrill that takes over when you discover something special,” explains Williams, who cites fictional character Margot Tenenbaum from Anderson’s 2001 cult classic, The Royal Tenenbaums, as a source of inspiration for the project. “It’s that adrenaline-fuelled sensation of entering a whole new setting and mindset.” Spanning an entire block between 6th and 7th Streets on Washington Avenue, the seven-storey structure – designed
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