March 8, 2009

US & CANADA | US | FLORIDA | FORT LAUDERDALE

All Grown Up

By Doug Black

In Fort Lauderdale the party's now on slow jam, but the sex is here to stay.

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Fort Lauderdale — the perennial Spring Break destination — may be hanging up its bikini once and for all. Long the go-to destination for drunken coeds, the city is now, more than ever, angling to claw back its “Venice of America” image. With 165 miles of canals and 23 miles of beaches, Fort Lauderdale has managed to lure heavy-hitters like Trump (opening later this year) and the new Ritz-Carlton (formerly the St. Regis) who are looking to cash in on what is already Florida’s highest occupancy rate.

But shutting down the frat party doesn’t mean the city’s lost the sex appeal. Just ask Clodagh, whose Manhattan design firm is handling the interiors of the new W Fort Lauderdale, opening April 23. Asserting that more sex goes down in hotel rooms than anywhere else, the mono-named design guru employed a “luxury-meets-Zen” technique to optimize sexiness. Beds are positioned to maximize positive feng shui, and a gelled strip of light is made to lend a flattering glow. The rest of the hotel seeks to inspire similar awe with a staircase rising from the center of the swimming pool, and a 27-foot waterfall at the property’s entrance.

Yet Starwood’s not done there: in addition to nearby W South Beach (opening May 1), they’ll roll out the Westin Beach Resort on March 12 as part of a push for 100 new properties this year and a total portfolio of 1,000 worldwide. The Westin will add 433 rooms to an increasingly crowded waterfront, which boasts civilized activities like diving, sailing and fishing. But if you still have a taste for old risqué Fort Lauderdale, check out the fourth annual Sunshine Stampede, April 3 — one of the world’s largest gay rodeos. With concerts, parties, even a Caribbean cruise, it just goes to show that, Spring Break or no Spring Break, you can’t take all the party out of Fort Lauderdale.