Could we be seeing another hotel in trouble? The WSJ's Developments blog says that The Shore Club in Miami Beach has gone delinquent on its $111.5 million securitized mortgage. The mortgage has a special server Cerberus Capital Management LP's LNR Partners Inc. which has reported that father and son developers Philip and Michael Pilevsky had withdrawn a threat to close the hotel after the mortgage server agreed to fund basic expenses including payroll from the mortgage's reserves. According to credit-research company Trepp LLC, the Shore Club's mortgage is 30 days delinquent this month. The hotel also owes another $11.5 million in separate debt besides the mortgage.

A renovation of the hotel is in progress and a spokesperson for Philip and Michael Pilevsky said there is a disagreement between the owner and the loan servicer about what the servicer is responsible for funding. The hotel went through a renovation in 2001 and was appraised for $176 million in 2005, when the owners mortgaged it at the peak of South Florida prices. That number might be a bit lower now. The Shore Club has 322 rooms and a spa but is more famous for its Nobu sushi restaurant, several night clubs and its enviable beachfront pool area. Tourism has been down in Florida overall and the hotel has seen occupancy fall this year. The hotel remains open and is currently offering a deal that includes overnight accommodations, priority seating at Skybar and a bottle of either Perrier Jouet Grand Brut or SKYY Vodka on arrival for $325.

The third tower of The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort is expected to be finished next February, and the resort will open its heavy glass doors to early adopters in 2011. Sitting on 1,000 square feet of sable blanc at the north end of Miami Beach, the three 27-story towers will house 511 rooms in various sizes and flavors of sumptuousness. The move south, like a snowbird from that biggest of apples, is intended to be a relocation of the New England grandeur that Colonel John Jacob Astor IV inaugurated when he opened the first St. Regis in NYC in 1904.

Think: mirrors. Lots of them. The Yabu Pushelberg interior scheme (from the firm that has lent a helping hand to Prada, Tiffany, the Mandarin Oriental, and so on) will naturally focus on textures and materials: Movingui hardwood walls, marble and travertine flooring, and etched plaster walls will abound upon entry. Guests and residents are no less looked after, with spa-like bathrooms, enclosed walk-in showers, and overflow soaking tubs. Granite makes its necessary appearance for the kitchen countertops, and the cutlery drawers will even be pre-slotted, so you'll never mistake your butcher for your cleaver.

Residences come in one-, two-, three-, and four-bedroom sizes, range from 1,777 to 6,868 square feet, and start at $1.9 million. If you need more convincing -- and proof that that this St. Regis has left behind most of its New York City roots -- the balconies alone start at 455 square feet, larger than a fair number of Manhattan apartments. Amenities will include white-glove butlers, 24-hour room service, a 12,000 square foot spa, and someone to do your grocery shopping for you. Because, you know, you'll be hungry when you finally roll in from Nikki Beach...

The Miami Herald says that all those condo price cuts are finally starting to pay off. According to a recent article Miami, Florida is experiencing a bit of a mini boom now that prices are really low. Desperate developers are willing to make deals just to get the units off their books. Investors and home buyers are swooping in hoping that a bottom has been reached.

But has it? Miami still has a huge oversupply of condos as a result of a building frenzy and there could still be many more condo units facing foreclosure. The good news for buyers its that this means deals will be available for a long time. Some of the Miami Herald commenters to the article didn't seem certain that the prices are as low as they will eventually go and seemed skeptical of any reports of condo sell-offs.In fact they pointed to a Time magazine article about the exodus of people from Florida due to high property taxes.

Once upon a time music producer Scott Storch was once said to be worth $70 million, money he earned by producing records for Christina Aguilera, Brooke Hogan and Beyonce among others. But Storch's penchant for high living has gotten him in trouble. For the last year or so he's been struggling to hold on to his home on Miami's Palm Island. TMZ reports that the battle is at an end. Storch defaulted on the property last July but then declared bankruptcy. Now the bankruptcy order has been dismissed and SunTrust bank, which held two mortgages worth a combined $7.75 million against the property, bought the property back at auction on Friday for $5.5 million. Storch has said that he lost money during a period of time when he was addicted to cocaine and he went into rehab earlier this year.

At Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Miami designers just showed the latest looks in swimwear for Spring 2010. "Old glamour is back in a big way" declared the Miami Herald of the numerous collections on display at the chic Raleigh Hotel in South Beach. Check out the video above for some highlights - you'll enjoy it even if you can't wear any of the suits yourself. Other trends of note to emerge from the round of eye-popping events, according to the Herald: hot pink is in, ditto transparent material; as for shape it was "all about the bandeau and the monokini (attached bikini) or cutout one-pieces," while high-waisted and ruffled looks made a splash as well. Many of the suits were "sexy in a feminine way - not overtly flashing a lot of skin." Oh well.

W Hotels has opened their 31st property, the W South Beach and The Residences at W South Beach in the arts and entertainment district of Miami Beach. The development includes 408 W-branded residences with Ocean Suites, Beach Bungalows, and the Extreme WOW suite (W's version of the Presidential suite). Among the food and drink destinations at the property are Wall, a bar and lounge, Spanish restaurant Solea and the celebrity favorite Mr. Chow. The hotel also bring the popular Bliss spa to Miami.

The $500 million hotel was designed by architect Costas Kondylis. The W's Living Room (aka the lobby) was designed by Anna Busta with artwork from collector Aby Rosen's private collection. The art is showcased in an environment with tufted leather ottomans, velvet curtains in eggplant purple, modern white and gray sofas, armchairs covered in white pony or slate velvet and white pony rugs splashed with gold paint. A 20-foot-high beaded curtain set off by glass walls marks the way into the W Living Room Bar with views of the pool deck and garden. If you book by July 20 the hotel is offering rates from $269 per night for stays July 16 – October 12. The Miami Herald reported earlier this month that the South Beach location has sold out for weekends in July even though the prices are higher than many other hotels in the area.

Shaquille O'Neal has finally unloaded his Miami mansion for $16 million - $2 million less than he paid for the place - after nearly five years. The basketball superstar bought the Star Island spread in 2004 for $18.2 million, and first listed it for sale in 2005 for $32 million. The home was listed at $29 million when it was our estate of the day last summer, then the price dropped to $22 million before climbing back up to $25 million, then going back down to $22.5 million. Quite the real estate roller coaster. The Miami Herald reports that the new owner who reportedly coughed up $16 million in cash is said to be a European businessman who plans to renovate the estate. According to the South Beach Real Estate Blog, the buyer is none other than Vladislav Doronin, the handsome Russian billionaire who's dating supermodel Naomi Campbell. The Mediterranean-style main house has eight bedrooms, an indoor basketball court, gym, steam room and sauna. The 2.5 acre grounds include a tennis court, six-car garage, dock, two-bedroom guest house and Shaq's pool complete with Superman logo.

Miami in the summer time is a bit sweltering but some good deals make Miami's Gansevoort South Hotel worth braving the heat. The hotel is offering savings of up to 40 percent on a variety of goods and services. For the summer hotel guests receive a discount card for 20 percent off at David Barton Gym and 10 percent off all retail partners, including Philippe Chow restaurant, Café Bustelo, Big Drop clothing store, Inca boutique, Curve, and Cutler salon. Plunge, the hotel's rooftop bar and lounge will hold two weekly pool parties this summer: Fashionably Wednesdays, sponsored by Roberto Cavalli, and Sunday movie nights, showcasing feature films complete with cabanas, popcorn, cotton candy, and soft pretzels, which joins the hotel's existing Thursday night Capone dance party.

Summer packages include the art and culture inspired "Art and Away" package which offers tours of local museums, The "Honey, We're Stuck With The Kids" package which includes a cookies and milk turndown service, and relaxing "Head To Toe" package which includes a massage. Florida residents can also take 20 percent off the best available rate in any room category through October 31.

The creator of Miami Cigar & Co. has decided that this coming Friday, June 12, 2009, is National Nestor Miranda Day. In exchange for claiming this particular day of the week, Miranda's Miami Cigar will be shipping free samples of the Nestor Miranda Special Selection 20 Aniversario Danno to 500 cigar retailers around the country. The only catch is that you have to buy a cigar from the retailer – any cigar, not even one from Miranda.

Each shop will be given 40 cigars, and 20 cigar retailers will be set up for much larger parties, which will be attended by key team members from Miami Cigar. Miranda will be at Sabor Havana in Doral Florida.

This promotion is the latest in a yearlong celebration of Miami Cigar's 20th anniversary.

Let luxe reign, Miami Beach has a new chic boutique. The old Webster hotel has been revamped as a 20,000-square-foot temple of chic that includes men's and women's fashion, jewelry, art, a lounge and the first U.S. location of the Parisian restaurant Caviar Kaspia. The Webster features brands like Balenciaga, Dolce & Gabbana, Azzedine Alaia, Marc Jacobs, Miu Miu, Neil Barrett, Martin Margiela and Stella McCartney.

The Miami Herald interviews Frederic Dechnik and Laure Heriard Dubreuil on their store and the philosophy of slow shopping. The store is designed for dawdlers who will stay a while, enjoy the space and spend a lot of money. The store has a European style designed to appeal to an international clientele. It opened yesterday, not an auspicious time for a palace of shopping but we'll wish them well just the same.

A $26 million yacht with Versace interiors owned by cab driver-turned-fertilizer king Tamir Sapir - who lives in Manhattan's famed Duke-Semans mansion (above) - was seized by customs officials in Miami this week over trophies made from the skins of endangered animals. The yacht, named the Mystère, was found to contain zebra skins, a jaguar skin rug, Bengal tiger and African lion heads, cigar boxes covered in elephant hide, a reticulated python cigarette holder, and large carved ivory tusks, the Miami Herald reports.

Sapir, an emigré from Russia whose $1.4 billion fortune is now mainly invested in real estate, will get the yacht back minus the gruesome décor after paying a $150,000 fine. Sapir bought the historic seven-story Duke-Semans mansion across from the Metropolitan Museum of Art from Doris Duke's relatives for $40 million after a single walk-through, and is now said to be spending $10 million on renovations including - get this - a gallery for his world-class collection of ivory. He is ranked at No. 522 on Forbes' Richest Americans list.

Today's home is another mansion in the sky in Miami. This home in Grovenor House is a five-bedroom home which includes a luxurious outdoor rooftop sanctuary that has a heated infinity edge pool, full service kitchen and walls of stone with flowing waterfalls, ample sunbathing areas and of course, a stunning view. The home has balconies and plenty of windows, spa-like bathrooms and a spiral wood and glass staircase. It's heavy on the beige and light wood but the built-ins in the living room are quite nice and given the gorgeousness of the outdoor area, why go inside anyway? This home is listed at $16.9 million.

Experience more lush living in luxury homes and mansions or see the stars living large with celebrity homes galleries at AOL Real Estate.

More than a quarter of homes on the market right now have had a price cut since they were first put up for sale. Trulia.com has released research that shows 27 percent of homes currently on the market across the United States have experienced at least one price cut. Their data reveals that across 15 major cities, including New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston and Atlanta, the average price reduction for homes ranged from $20,000 to $295,000. Trulia announced the findings along with the new " price reduction functionality" on their home research website that helps you find price cuts in your area.

Trulia says that prices on 39 percent of New York City's homes for sale have been cut by an average of 14 percent. Across the country in Los Angeles, 33 percent of listings have been cut by an average of 13 percent. Reuters reports that the average prices of 20 metropolitan areas are down 29 percent from 2006 per the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index. New York City has fared better than some places like Las Vegas and Miami which experienced huge booms and have seen prices fall off dramatically.

Formerly high-flying music producer Scott Storch (above with his Bugatti Veyron) has been charged with grand theft auto after failing to return his leased Bentley GT. Storch, who produced hits for the likes of 50 Cent and Beyoncé and partied with close pal Paris Hilton, has fallen on hard times recently and has seen his $10 million Miami mansion foreclosed on.

According to a copy of the a the police report obtained by MTV News, Storch began leasing a 2004 Bentley GT in February 2006 which was due to be returned last month. However, instead of handing over the pricey wheels Storch gave the Bentley to L'il Kim, TMZ reports. A repo company finally tracked the car down at Kim's place in New Jersey. Storch was released on bail after posting an undisclosed amount; according to some reports he is currently in rehab.

When you're close to the floor, you don't have far to fall.

That was the sentiment at the seventh Arteamericas event, which ran from March 27 – 30 at the Miami Beach Convention Center. This year, the fair drew 52 exhibitors, down from 70 last year. Collectors and dealers alike see this as positive in a generally harsh art market.

The Latin American art space, which is the focus of Arteamericas, did not grow as aggressively as the Chinese art sector, which has protected collectors. Since prices did not rise to absurd proportions (by art market standards, at least), the art crash of 2008 and 2009 won't impact these collectors as severely. Sitting on the panel, "Latin American Art in Today's Global and Local Art Markets," Vivian Pfeiffer, a regional director for Christie's in South Florida, said, "We don't have that much distance to crash." Further, collectors of Latin American art tend to be unwilling to sell their holdings even when times are tough.

The largest sale at the event was the 1945 painting Sorcerer, by René Portocarrero of Cuba. It fetched $135,000 on the first night of the event. Another Portocarrero, Woman with Birds (1982) sold for $40,000.

[Photo: "The Smoker" by Julio Aguilera"]