Rise and Fall of Miami Beach’s “Playboy Plaza”

The Castle Beach Club briefly entered its satin-rope era in 1970 when it was rebranded as the “Playboy Plaza,” part of Hugh Hefner’s ambitious attempt to expand the Playboy empire into full-scale hospitality. Hefner even maintained a penthouse suite there during his short-lived adventure as an international hotel magnate, turning a stretch of Collins Avenue into something resembling a velvet-covered fever dream of cocktails, mirrored ceilings, and perpetual lounge music.

The experiment didn’t last long (less than 4 years), and in 1974 the property was eventually converted back into a more conventional hotel. Running a massive oceanfront resort aimed largely at bachelors, playboys, and aspiring disco-era Casanovas turned out to be trickier than expected and business model starts wobbling like a waterbed.

Being sold for $500 million

Latest rumors is it may be sold to Related Group for $500 million. The 1960’s MiMo architecture style building currently operates as Design Suites with 570 units, most of which are dated, less than 500 square feet, and used as short-term vacations. If the sale happens, owners would collect about five times the value of their condos. Related Group is one of Florida’s largest developers and has built dozens of Florida oceanfront condo buildings.

Iconic Russian & Turkish Baths are located on the ground floor of the building

Founded in the early 1990s, this iconic spa retreat has become a South Florida institution and one of America’s most celebrated bathhouse experiences. Hidden behind its unassuming exterior lies a labyrinth of heat, steam, marble, eucalyptus, and ocean air. From traditional Russian banyas and Turkish baths to Jacuzzis, saunas, steam rooms, and beachfront spa amenities, the experience unfolds like a thermal voyage through another era of Miami Beach decadence.