Tiny South-of-Fifth hotel, Casa Coloretta, set to expand

One of the tiniest hotels in Miami Beach is going to nearly double in size. Casa Coloretta, with eight small suites that contain kitchen areas, is adding seven additional suites along with a one-story rooftop addition.

The hotel is located at 355 Washington Avenue in the boutique-hotel friendly South-of-Fifth neighborhood. The city’s Historic Preservation Board this week granted variances that will allow modifications to rear and side setbacks on the original building as well as allow new hotel rooms to be built between 492 square feet to 552 square feet, at or below the minimum room size of 550 square feet set for Miami Beach.   

The board had previously declined to move the project forward because of concerns from neighbors that a planned rooftop addition would contain a spa to be used by hotel guests.    

However, Susana Alonso, a designer for Casa Coloretta, LLC, told board members that the roof will have no active use and will consist of natural landscape material. She also said a western staircase and planned elevator access to the roof had been eliminated from the hotel plans.

Frank Del Vecchio, condo board president of 301 Ocean Drive, just across the street, told the board the hotel owners had met the three concerns expressed by neighbors: no active roof area, preserving the architecturally significant building built in 1953 and not adding height to the one-story structure.   

Casa Coloretta owner Danilo Damolin told The Real Deal that the expanded hotel will cater to families with small children, many of whom he says are repeat guests who stay longer than a week, and who like the suites with their kitchen facilities.