If we could pick any place to quarantine, One Thousand Museum, a new hotel-like condo in downtown Miami, would be the lockdown living quarters of our dreams. And it’s not just because David and Victoria Beckham as well as Manchester United soccer star Paul Pogba bought units here. The exclusive address boasts everything from amenities you’d find at a luxury hotel, like a spa and a “curator of hospitality,” to a distinctive design from a starchitect.
The Design
The striking 62-floor One Thousand Museum was the last U.S. project and is the only residential skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere from visionary architect Zaha Hadid, who died in 2016. The first woman to win the Pritzker Prize — architecture’s most prestigious award — Hadid was known for her bold, futuristic designs, including the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, Azerbaijan, and the Guangzhou Opera House.
Hadid brought her eye for sinuous silhouettes to One Thousand Museum, where an exoskeleton curves around the structure, giving it a sculptural quality. It stands out along the skyline.
The Perks
The building mimics a hotel in many ways. When walking into the lobby, you’ll notice dramatic, curved white lines while getting a whiff of a bespoke fragrance from 12.29, a company that’s crafted scents for hospitality brands (like The Ritz-Carlton), fashion houses (Valentino) and celebrities (Lady Gaga).
Two floors are dedicated to wellness. One Thousand Museum is home to the world’s first residential spa to offer Biologique Recherche facials and body treatments. And it’s a full-fledged spa, too, with spacious treatment rooms, steam and sauna rooms with European oak walls, a salon, plunge pools and a relaxation lounge.
A gym carries state-of-the-art Technogym equipment, indoor and outdoor spaces allow for different fitness classes, and a bar turns out pressed juices, smoothies and acai bowls. Alfresco pools dot the sunny terrace. If you need a reprieve from the Miami heat, head into the double-height Aquatic Center, where the indoor pool looks like it’s about to be engulfed by a rippled white wave (it’s Hadid’s striking sculptural wall that stretches across the ceiling).
Residents also get the use of Florida’s first private helipad on a residential tower. A movie theater lends itself to private screenings, lectures and presentations. Breakfast is served daily in the lobby, where residents can choose light bites like organic berries, granola, Greek yogurt and pastries as well as coffee and tea. While it isn’t on the sand, the building has Museum Beach, a SoBe beach club exclusively for residents, and a house car that can provide transportation. Like a hotel, this club offers amenities like sunscreen, facial mist, hats, sandals and more along with a children’s play area and a pool.
Our favorite amenity is the showstopping 61st-floor Sky Lounge, where three stories of windows overlook the city. Thursday to Saturday evenings, residents can enjoy the astounding views with tapas and cocktails. A butler is on hand to take care of any other needs.
The Service
While One Thousand Museum has the staff you would expect from a place of this caliber (like around-the-clock security and a valet), it also includes the first-of-its-kind service in the private residential industry: a curator of hospitality. But that isn’t a synonym for “concierge.”
“Many residential properties have a concierge to assist them with requests, from housekeeping services to restaurant reservations,” says Eleonor Jimenez, who previously supervised the concierge department at Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star The Setai, Miami Beach. “However, my role as a curator goes beyond the walls of the property and the local market. I provide support to the owners throughout the home-buying cycle to ensure a smooth transition from the sales team to the lawyer’s office for closing, and even perform their onsite orientation where I teach them how to use their new appliances.”
Jimenez oversees all aspects of hospitality within One Thousand Museum and develops partnerships with vendors and entities outside of the property (such as museums and art centers) to give residents access to a greater range of lifestyle programming. (Full disclosure: One Thousand Museum partnered with Forbes Travel Guide to train its staff, the way FTG does for hotels.)
The Condos
Of course, the sleek, modern residences don’t disappoint. An east-to-west flow-through floor plan puts vistas of Biscayne Bay, the Atlantic Ocean and the city skyline on full display through top-to-toe windows. And if you want an up-close view, all condos come with multiple expansive terraces.
The customized Italian kitchens are equipped with quartz counters and top-of-the-line amenities, including Gaggenau ovens, microwaves, dishwashers and coffeemakers, and Dornbracht faucets. But the most necessary quarantine appliance might be the double Sub-Zero refrigerator with a built-in wine storage cooler.
Bathrooms can be customized with an array of materials and colors, but you will find Dornbracht rainforest showers, curved Elise soaking tubs and Duravit toilets and bidets in the master.
The condos also have an added Hadid touch: she designed the door handles, which recall the shape of her zigzagged Riverside Museum building in Glasgow.
If you’re interested in quarantining here, One Thousand Museum reports that a limited number of the 84 units remain available. Condos range from $4.95 million to more than $20 million.
