From superstar musician and producer Pharrell Williams and Miami nightlife impresario David Grutman, The Goodtime Hotel is an escapist retreat on South Beach’s Washington Avenue with DJ-fueled weekend pool parties and the whimsical Strawberry Moon restaurant. A cheerful pink color palette and welcoming staff add to the good vibes.
Location 7/10
Two blocks from the ocean on Washington Avenue, The Goodtime is situated in the midst of South Beach’s raucous nightlife scene. As you travel south and cross over 5th Street, the area becomes a touch more sophisticated, anchored by some of South Beach’s most iconic dining institutions, including Joe’s Stone Crab and Prime 112.
Design 8/10
With interiors by James Beard Award-winning designer Ken Fulk, The Goodtime is awash in a cheerful pink and mint color palette with hand-painted tropical hothouse murals and rattan furniture. The common areas beg to be Instagram backdrops, from the gilt elevator’s playful alligator wallpaper to the pretty in pink library lounge and the hallway’s playful green trompe l’oeil carpet in a 1970s-inspired wicker cane print with faux footprints.
Amenities & Hospitality 8/10
The rooftop swimming pool at Strawberry Moon, with its pink cabanas and palm frond sculptures, hosts wild weekend parties helmed by visiting and local DJs, but during my weekday stay, the environment was relaxed and uncrowded. There’s also an indoor-outdoor gym with a sculptural muscle beach-style workout station.
For a first hotel by a nightlife kingpin whose clubs LIV and Story have a notorious velvet rope, I was pleasantly surprised by the consistently warm, accommodating and sincere hospitality of the entire staff, from the front desk to our Strawberry Moon waitress and bartender and other attendants. The gracious hospitality truly delivered on the good time promised by the hotel’s name.
Rooms 7/10
Rooms are small by design in what the industry has dubbed “micro rooms”—more a place to rest your head at the end of a long day (and night) in South Beach rather than for luxuriating. But they’re pleasantly outfitted in Fulk’s playful design scheme with bedspreads and bolsters in striped mint seersucker, accent furniture and robes in pink and green leopard print, and bathrooms outfitted in pale pink subway tile with brass fixtures and a green marble sink.
Food & Beverage 8/10
Strawberry Moon is the hotel’s restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating. Highlights of the creative Mediterranean menu include meze selections, like the labneh and spicy feta, as well as yellowtail crudo, short rib and the sweet and fluffy Yemenite “moon bread” served with fig tahini butter. There’s also a grab and go café for coffee, pastries, green juice and breakfast sandwiches in the morning.
Value 9/10
Rates from about $139 in low season and $199 in high; Book
The Bottom Line
Grutman has created a hotel in a fantasia of pretty pink and mint green at an approachable price point for party people who want to soak up the Miami vibes.
Contact
601 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach, 33139; 786-687-0234; Thegoodtimehotel.com
