Miami luxury condos lure new buyers with private chefs, beach butlers

Miamians didn’t take kindly to quarantining in condos. Since the spring, South Florida saw buyers scramble to buy spacious single-family homes. But now, condo developers are luring back buyers with amenities and services designed to impress even the most seasoned luxury consumer.

“Creating wow experiences is now a must,” says Daniel Kodsi, the developer behind Paramount Miami WorldCenter, a 27-acre mixed-use super project and condo tower, where prices range from $750,000 to $11 million. “Chilled Champagne does not impress this crowd, but a surprise engagement celebration with candles and rose petals on our rooftop? That will.”

Kodsi — who recently organized the aforementioned proposal for a resident, lighting up the building with hearts and the phrase “She said yes” — notes that his 60-story building is actively upping its service game to mirror the surprise-and-delight-style services found at the best hotels in the world. That goes even for prospective buyers, who’ve recently been fêted with sushi dinners in the penthouse units.

The Ritz-Carlton Residences Sunny Isles Beach, a 52-story, 212-unit condo tower, is taking a similar approach with experiential treats for residents and prospective buyers, including dramatic Champagne sabrage, live entertainment, bell-ringing at sunset, beach butler service and private chef’s dinners. All four penthouses in the building have now sold, while remaining units start at $2.25 million.

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Meanwhile, at nearby Arte in Surfside (where prices start at $7.9 million for a three-bedroom), developer Alexander Sapir has created a wow-factor service amenity that harkens back to the Gilded Age. Call buttons have been installed throughout public spaces in the Antonio Citterio-designed, 16-unit, 12-story tower, allowing residents to summon one of the building’s full-time butlers in an instant.

“Our team of butlers gives buyers five-star service that they would normally only find at the finest hotels in the world,” says Sapir. “The whole experience at Arte is unique to South Florida.”