Grand ambiance
The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, favorite Aventura restaurants, La Natural, Bar Bucce, Lou Pinet Saint-Tropez, Norway-England, MORE
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WORK • Thursday Routine
Whole foods
REBECCA SCHWARTZ SMITH • founder & CEO • Mamala Organics
Neighborhood you work & live in: Miami Beach
It’s Thursday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
Thursday morning doesn’t start at my workplace. After dropping off my kids, it starts at Ultra Miami, where I have a standing padel game with my pals. It’s therapy, a workout, and a hang all in one. From there, I’ll grab caffeine, sit with my computer and take my standing Thursday marketing mind-meld courtside. Since moving to Miami from New York six years ago, having my second child, and launching Mamala Support Snacks this past year, I’ve become more flexible with my workspace, and leaning into the Mamala ethos of prioritizing my personal well-being — at least on Thursday mornings.
What’s on the agenda for today?
Everything. Building something from nothing is a doozy! Today, we’re finalizing our ingredient mix for our next production run of functional Support Snacks for women’s health. The reason I started this company was to make it easier for women to access the whole foods we actually need, exactly when we need them in a way that fits our lifestyles — real foods for our hormones, microbiome, cognition, energy. We started with postpartum but women across all life stages have become fully hooked.
Any bar or restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
We’re playing padel with a few couples tonight, and from there we usually go to Bar Bucce or La Natural — easy vibe, solid food, good selection of natural wine.
How about a little leisure or culture?
I grew up in Colorado, and from the moment we moved there, my parents had us skiing, but I knew people who never went to the mountains. The same goes for Miami: you’re either going to the beach, or you’re not. We’re going nearly every weekend. It’s the World Cup right now, so the city’s really buzzing. The ideal setup is: wake up and grab a coffee from Sunshine or Caracas Bakery, stop by El Bagel for said bagel, and then to the beach for a long afternoon of sandcastles and reading until you’re napping under the umbrella. Follow it up with the best Cuban dinner (and live music) at Sazon.
Any weekend getaways?
Palm Beach is a two-hour drive and Mexico City is a 3.5-hour flight, so CDMX it is. I love renting a beautiful Airbnb in Roma Norte, though next time, I’m staying at Campos Polanco. I’m eating at Esquina Común and Fugaz, wandering galleries, shopping for home goods, and just devouring with my eyeballs that CDMX mix of raw concrete architecture and abundant greenery. Can’t get enough.
What was your last great vacation?
We just came back from two weeks in France. It was so special, because it was a friends’ trip and a family trip back-to-back. We started in Saint-Tropez with friends. We stayed at Lou Pinet, while family stayed nearby at the Airelles. It was the best of both worlds, getting to have some alone time with our pals and still getting to run into our kids at the market.
My favorite meal was lunch at Loulou and then a hilarious evening of dancing at Les Caves. In Provence, the best ambiance was in Gordes at another Airelles property, where I rang in my 37th birthday in the most exquisite location with equally exquisite food. My daughter, mother, and I picked up an array of clothes and jewelry at the market and luxuriated in the act of strolling. In Paris, the Hilma af Klint exhibit at the Grand Palais was a highlight, as was an afternoon at Alaia in Le Marais; it’s Azzedine’s original home that is currently exhibiting a portion of his extensive collection of Dior. We shopped with Iver, an exceptional SA and also an opera singer!
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
New stone for our home. We got this quite busy travertine and this viola marble that actually made me verklempt when I first saw it.
What store or service do you always recommend?
Facials and a scalp treatment at SKIN House of Beauty on South Beach. It’s my sanctuary.
Where are you donating your time or money?
At this exact moment, to the recovery efforts in Venezuela, and Lotus House, which does incredible work for women and children in Miami.
MIAMI WORK AND PLAY LINKS: How a $400M Fisher Island development deal fell apart • New interior renderings revealed for Ritz-Carlton Residences Ft. Lauderdale Beach • Heat and humidity threaten Saturday’s England-Norway World Cup match at Hard Rock • Whole Foods opens massive Doral location • Is it legal to pick mangoes off your neighbor’s tree? • Classic summer totes • Wearing a Rolex in 2026 no longer says you’ve made it.
REAL ESTATE • First Mover
Three for-sale properties in Ponce Davis/High Pines that came to market in the last 45 days.
→ 7510 SW 56th Ct (High Pines) • 3BR/3.1BA, 2678 SF townhouse • Ask: $2.23M • balcony residence in gated Oak Lane enclave • Annual taxes: $19,857 • Days on market: 41 • Agent: Monica Betancourt, Coldwell Banker.
→ 7212 SW 52nd Ct (High Pines) • 4BR/4BA, 2855 SF house • Ask: $3.999M • new-construction spec home w/ custom white oak kitchen and Taj Mahal quartzite • Annual taxes: $17,347 • Days on market: 19 • Agent: Lourdes Alatriste, Douglas Elliman.
→ 7851 SW 48th Pl (Ponce Davis, above) • 5BR/5.1BA, 3461 SF house • Ask: $5.5M • move-in-ready modern residence w/ detached two-story guest house • Annual taxes: $30,705 • Days on market: 5 • Agents: Mark Chatburn & Brigitte Nachtigall, One Sotheby’s International Realty.
MIAMI RESTAURANT LINKS: New 10-seat omakase counter Takay opening tomorrow on Coral Way • Coral Gables steakhouse Daniel’s planning new waterfront Edgewater restaurant • Bidding a fond farewell to Lokal • How café interiors shape the way people experience a neighborhood.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Vikings v Lions
Florida Supercon • Miami Beach Convention Center (South Beach) • Fri-Sun • 3-day ticket, $127 per
Norway v England • Quarterfinals • Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens) • Sat @ 5p • sec 118, $6537 per ($1691 lowest avail)
J. Cole • Kaseya Center (Downtown) • Tue @ 8p • sec 107, $275 per
GETAWAYS • Key Biscayne
Putting on the Ritz
After a temporary closure and $100 million revamp, The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne welcomed guests back last December.
The new look — awash in a color palette of creams, pale pink and green with sculptural overhead lighting and a marble-clad reception area — does justice to the resort’s lofty, regal bones. The grand flow-through lobby, with a double-height wall of windows opening up to the ocean, always made a strong first impression, but now the space feels appropriately modern and airy.
Updated rooms and suites are designed in a beach house aesthetic in neutral tones with blond wood bed frames, rattan. upholstered finishes, and plush sand-colored carpeting. They’re spacious and comfortable (if a little bland), but each has a table, seating area, and minibar. Every room is outfitted with a balcony, and vantages range from ocean to island, spanning Crandon Park’s leafy canopy with distant views of Biscayne Bay and the mainland beyond. Spacious marble bathrooms, with a separate tub, shower, and toilet, Diptyque products, and plenty of counter space all help put a fine point on the luxury factor.
As with most Ritz-Carltons, even when the aesthetics aren’t astoundingly original, the brand is so well-practiced at designing rooms (and an overall resort experience) that naturally promote comfort and ease, succumbing to the pleasures here becomes nearly impossible. They also include two enormous oceanfront pools (one adults-only) lined with cabanas, and the addition of a new splash park for kids. There’s also beach service, hammocks swaying lazily in the breeze, and a tennis center, including padel and pickleball courts, with clinics and lessons available.
The impressive 30,000-square-foot spa also underwent a revamp. Awash in a palette of soft creams, pinks and marble, it features a sauna, steam rooms, hot tub, cold plunge and spa garden. In addition to the massive oceanfront fitness center, the addition of a Tremble studio and Pura Vida outpost makes the resort a destination for Key Biscayne locals, adding to its vibrancy.
The restaurants have also been overhauled. They include Luma, a modern Italian restaurant set inside a lovely indoor-outdoor dining room, and Paralía, a Mediterranean restaurant beneath an oceanfront al fresco thatched hut. There’s also an updated Dune Beach Bar servicing the pool and beach, alongside its own toes-in-the-sand beachfront seating.
The Rum Bar has always been my favorite part of the hotel, and it’s still a gem with its updated, airy redesign hearkening back to a stylish Old Havana social club. It’s a place where hotel guests and locals alike congregate over excellent cocktails, small bites and an impressive rum list. Shooting the breeze with the barman, the idea that you’re in paradise is merely an afterthought. –Shayne Benowitz
→ The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne (Key Biscayne) • 455 Grand Bay Dr • Summer rates from $465/night.
GETAWAYS LINKS: Waldorf Astoria set to take over W South Beach, hotel portion closing 08/20 for renovation • American to debut MIA-MAR (Maracaibo, Venezuela) route next week… and plans to increase MIA-SKB (St. Kitts) flights this winter • Chase Sapphire Lounge coming to MIA with Cuban coffee window, rum bar • Equinox entering Caribbean hotel market at Port Nimara in Anguilla, eyes 2029 debut • Delta debuts ‘basic business’ and ‘basic first class’ fares.
RESTAURANTS • The Nines
Aventura
Our 9 favorites in the neighborhood. Paid subscribers get access to all of our neighborhood Nines.
Novecento, polished Argentine steakhouse for parrillada grill platters, empanadas, Milanese, more, reserve