The Castle Hotel, located at 5445 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, in the 1970s was briefly operating as "The Playboy Plaza". Playboy founder Hugh Hefner's attempt to go big with hospitality. Hefner actually had a penthouse suite in the hotel during his short stint as a hotelier.
It was converted back to a "regular" hotel after the project failed. Must have been difficult to fill such a big hotel with mostly bachelors, and swingers.
Being sold for $500 million
Latest news is it may be sold to Related Group for $500 million. The 1960’s MiMo architecture style building currently operates as Design Suites with 570 units, most of which are dated, less than 500 square feet, and used as short-term vacations. If the sale happens, owners would collect about five times the value of their condos. Related Group is one of Florida’s largest developers and has built dozens of Florida oceanfront condo buildings.
Iconic Russian & Turkish Baths were located on the ground floor of the building
It was one of the best spa retreats in South Florida. They used to offer excellent amenities at Russian & Turkish Baths, including saunas, steam rooms, Jacuzzi, and beach spas. Unfortunately, after decades of service (opened in this location in the 1990s), they were pushed out by owners very early in 2022. I was there just a few days before the tragic end of Miami Beach's best spa.