With the hotel tower built in the signature 1950s “Miami Modern” style, the Carillion Hotel and Spa has 150-room condo/hotel units sitting on 750 feet of beachfront. It's also home to one of the largest wellness centers in Florida. A new joint venture created by Z Capital, together with Adrian Zecha, founder of Amanresorts and GHM Hotels, and Jonathan Breene, developer and creator of The Setai, South Beach will manage the property.

“Combined with the adjacent development of the Golden Sands, this part of Miami Beach is quickly becoming a destination unto itself for tourist and residents seeking luxury amenities,” says Robert Given, vice chairman of CBRE Capital Markets, Multifamily. CBRE Hotels also arranged the sale in 2014 of the property next to the Carillon Hotel and Spa, on which new owners SMG/Shamrock and W Capital of Miami Beach are building “L'Atelier,” an ultra-luxury, 20-story tower with 20 trophy residential units and interior design by Holly Hunt.

The new owner may fare better than Lehman. STR and Tourism Economics predict hotel occupancy to rise 1.1% to 65.1%, ADR to increase 5% to $121.37 and RevPAR to grow 6.2% to $79.06. And Miami's hotel market is one of the hottest in the nation. That could cause more investors to look for deals in South Florida, including boutique hotels.

“Boutique hotels have been sought after investments for foreign families with extensive hotel ownership and operational expertise abroad,” Suzanne M. Amaducci-Adams, partner with Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod who leads the firm's hospitality group, tells GlobeSt.com. “These investors tends to be all cash buyers. Lately, hotel investors have been combining property operations for several boutique hotels under one umbrella and creating a campus feel while reducing costs and increasing operational efficiencies for these smaller properties. Boutique hotels seem to have something for everyone.