Future Waldorf Astoria trims pool deck plan, offers sound tests at Roney Palace

The owner of the former W South Beach at 2201 Collins Ave., which is being relaunched as the Waldorf Astoria Miami Beach, has scaled back its request for the hotel’s pool deck and offered to test its sound system from the balconies of the Roney Palace condominium next door, according to new filings for the city’s Planning Board.

The board approved most of the hotel’s plans on Oct. 6 but held off on outdoor entertainment and crowd limits for the pool deck, a new beach restaurant and outdoor events after Roney residents objected to the noise. Red Sidewalks reported Oct. 28 that the hotel had asked for more time. The item is now on the board’s Dec. 8 agenda.

What changed

In an operations plan filed Nov. 4 by its lawyers at Akerman LLP, owner 2201 Collins Propco LLC proposes:

• Pool deck: room for 1,000 people, which the plan calls a compromise. The earlier request was 1,370, and the current permit allows 525. On regular days the deck would close at 10 p.m. instead of the 2 a.m. the old permit allowed, with background music through the hotel’s own sound system, DJs playing recorded music only, and live performers limited to unamplified strings and vocals.
• Special events: no more than five special-event permits a year, ending by 2 a.m.
• Hotel events such as weddings and corporate functions: allowed from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m., with music until 11 p.m. The hotel argues there should be no yearly limit, noting that permits for the 1 Hotel, the Delano, the Shelborne and the Faena set none.
• Beach restaurant: open 10 a.m. to midnight for up to 478 people, with music until 9 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and until midnight Thursday through Saturday.

Sound tests at the Roney

A Nov. 6 memo from the hotel’s acoustical consultant, Criterion Acoustics, predicts music levels of about 55 to 60 dBA at the most affected nearby facades. Before outdoor entertainment could start, the system would be tested at up to three balcony or facade points at the Roney, 2301 Collins Ave., and the city’s own sound expert would have to sign off. The hotel would retest after two noise violations in six months and keep a permanent noise monitor.

The memo makes the Roney tests depend on the condo’s cooperation: if the association doesn’t agree to a test date within 14 days of a request, the hotel’s obligation would be considered met.

The filings include no response from the Roney association. The Planning Board meets at 9 a.m. Dec. 8 at City Hall, 1700 Convention Center Drive.