Lajaunie Plans to Open Kosher Hotel in Miami

Juliet Glass
Posted: April 29, 2005

Last November Philippe Lajaunie purchased the Beach Castle Hotel, at 4210 Collins Avenue in Miami and is reopening it in two phases as a glatt kosher dining spot and hotel. Lajaunie is the owner of Brasserie Les Halles in Manhattan, D.C., and Coral Gables, and franchisor of Le Marais restaurant concept based on the Manhattan venue by that name.

Lajaunie's corporate exec chef, Gwenn Le Pape, is overseeing all food operations. This marks Lajaunie's first foray into the hotel business, but he harbors ambitions to expand the kosher luxury concept. "My intention is to open a mini chain of Le Marais Hotels & Restaurants in cities such as Los Angeles, Mexico City, and Hong Kong, where you find travelers for whom keeping kosher is important," he notes.