Giuseppe Cipriani, who runs glitzy catering halls and restaurants in New York, will lend his name to the shuttered Saxony Hotel, which is being transformed into a condominium complex and a 170-room condo-hotel.

Cipriani will enter South Florida's real estate and lodging industries after running well-known party spots in New York, most notably the Rockefeller Center's Rainbow Room.

On the other hand, while European hotels bear his family's name, other companies own those. Cipriani, whose company will serve as the Cipriani Resort's operator, said his only hotel experience comes from a resort he and partners built in Uruguay.

Cipriani, who plans other hotels across the country, came to the Saxony project about three months ago. He and Miami developer Ugo Colombo were shopping for a Miami Beach project, and Saxony owner Patrinely Group brought them both on as one-third partners.

By M. Sese
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