Chisholm Properties South Beach, the ownership group led by hotelier Robert Balzebre, has opened Solei Beach Club, an 11,500-square-foot oceanfront day club at the Kimpton Surfcomber Hotel at 1717 Collins Avenue in the heart of Miami Beach’s Art Deco District.
The club seats roughly 75 guests and now operates daily for hotel guests, locals and visitors. It replaces the property’s traditional pool-and-beach setup with a Mediterranean-inspired environment of shaded palapas, lounge seating and private cabanas.
Solei opens as Miami Beach operators increasingly convert pool decks and beachfront into lifestyle-driven day clubs. The model turns the daytime hours into a primary revenue and brand channel, built on curated dining, private bookings and design made for sharing. Within that shift, an oceanfront footprint on Collins Avenue is among the most contested real estate in the market.
The day club is the most visible result of a recent renovation of the property’s outdoor space. Chisholm Properties acquired the historic Art Deco hotel and rebranded it as a Kimpton in 2011 and the latest work refashioned the pool deck and cabanas to make room for the new concept. Solei occupies that reworked footprint.
The venue is designed to channel the easy spirit of coastal Spain against the energy of South Beach. Guests lounge beneath a thatched palapa within sight and sound of the ocean, in a setting positioned somewhere between the Spanish Riviera and the sand of Miami Beach. The concept extends from the architecture through the menu and the bar program.
The cabanas function as private poolside suites, each with plush lounge seating, big-screen televisions and direct access to both the pool and the beach. Beyond the cabanas, Solei offers 150 beach chairs and umbrellas for rent on the sand. The restaurant serves daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the bar open until 6 p.m. Evening dinner hours will start for the upcoming fall season.
The menu comes from Executive Chef Gastón Javier Sanchez, who built it around shareable, seafood-forward Mediterranean plates. A raw bar anchors the lineup with oysters, ceviche, octopus carpaccio and a tiered “Seafood Colosseum,” alongside a pintxos section and larger dishes that include shrimp and chicken paella and a sesame-crusted tahini salmon. Basque-style pistachio cheesecake and Key lime pie round out the dessert offerings.
The bar program leans coastal and Mediterranean, serving handcrafted cocktails meant for long afternoons by the water. Signature pours include the Spicy Señorita, the Ibiza Sunset and the club’s frozen flagship, the Passion Du Solei.
“Solei is exactly the kind of project we look for, taking an underused part of a property and turning it into something people want to spend the whole day in,” said Robert Balzebre, president of Chisholm Properties South Beach. “We rebuilt the pool deck area and the cabanas so the space could stand on its own, not only as a hotel amenity but as a daytime destination for the neighborhood. Opening it to the public was the point. We wanted to give Miami Beach a reason to come to this stretch of Collins Avenue, whether or not they are staying with us.”
The opening builds on Chisholm Properties’ history with the oceanfront property, which Balzebre acquired and restored through a $35 million renovation that brought the Kimpton brand to Miami Beach for the first time. Balzebre is also principal of Balzebre Investments, a Miami-based firm with a portfolio that spans hotels, retail centers, multifamily communities and mixed-use development sites across several states. The firm’s strategy centers on reinvesting in the physical assets of its properties to create new sources of value.
Solei Beach Club is open to the public, with cabanas and private events bookable in advance through the venue’s website. More information is available at soleibeachclub.com and on the hotel’s site at surfcomber.com.
