We chose Miami for the Nautilus opening because…
Beyond being the American Riviera, Miami has really become a global capital — a global capital of art, culture and design. It’s remarkable how much the transition has accelerated over the past several years. We’re lucky to be a part of that process.

My personal history with the city…
It’s as close to a second home as I’ve had. I’ve been going there as a child almost consistently — there are pictures of me as a baby, bouncing around the Fontainebleau. I’ve stayed at almost every one of the traditional hotels on the Strip that have now been repositioned and reimagined. I have a sense of every street, every building… I have a deep emotional connection to the city.

During the day, I’d recommend…
Miami is a very multicultural city, and it’s changed a lot over the last couple of years. The beach and resort component is certainly a part of it, but I think visitors should venture out from that and check out Wynwood and the Wynwood Walls, and see how the street culture has really promulgated. It almost has this feeling of Venice, California, where there’s this creative energy coming in. They should also see the Design District, the new Pérez Art Museum and go down to Brickell, where there are some amazing restaurants by the water.

And for nightlife…
There’s no shortage of nightlife here. Some of the greatest DJs in the world are playing in Miami — at Liv, Story, Wall. There’s a new club on Washington called Rockwell. You can begin early in the evening and end early the next morning, if that’s what you’re looking for.

And the best restaurants…
Obviously, I love our Driftwood Room at the Nautilus, but there are some other things to check out, too. For Asian food, Zuma is a really interesting experience. There’s a new Latin club called El Tucán that opened downtown. I love 27 a lot. And Mandolin, a Greek restaurant in the Design District — it’s very charming and quaint and not glitzy.

More on the Driftwood Room…
We partnered with Alex Guarnaschelli, who’s a chef I love and have long admired. She reimagined a beach club menu for Driftwood. The food is symbolic of the casual but extremely sophisticated culture we’re trying to bring to our property. And then it’s all about the beach, right? The feeling of connecting to that beautiful Miami sand and water and this idea of an urban resort. And there are a lot of items that are meant to be shared. You know, Miami is not a resort of solitude; it’s one of social activation. We want people to have fun.

Other highlights of our Nautilus hotel…
I think we’ve done a nice job respecting the original Morris Lapidus building and restoring it to the type of architecture that speaks so broadly and loudly to South Beach. At the same time we’ve layered in a really comfortable, contemporary and eclectic design that incorporates art: We’ve collaborated with the Depart Foundation to create an exhibition called Wonderwheel in the lobby.

My favorite corner or view of the hotel…
That’s hard, because I look at it through different eyes than a guest. I look at my hotels like a film director almost where the guests are all actors, and the hotel, my set, and I like to see how they interact. There’s one room on the second floor that has a large balcony in the corner — from there you can see everything going on at the pool and the beach. It’s almost like looking through the lens of Massimo Vitali, this Italian photographer I like who takes abstract images of large beaches from all over the world.

One thing you can get in Miami you can’t get anywhere else…
Miami is really about lifestyle. It’s the only place that I can think of where you can be on a paddle board in the morning and feel like you’re the farthest point away you can possibly be… then go to a business meeting in the afternoon and have an incredibly amazing dinner, followed by the most exciting night out you can possibly remember. It’s that totality of zen to engagement that’s very rare. There’s a series of contradictions that happen in Miami that makes it an incredibly special place.