MIAMI -- Waterfront resorts in the Miami area remained
closed Monday after Hurricane Irma brushed the city, but they appeared to have
escaped substantial damage.
"Most of the hotels I've been to never even lost
electric," said Steve Boucher, owner of the contracting company Boucher
Brothers, which runs beach concession operations for the city of Miami Beach as
well as many of the hotels there. "I think we'll be ready to go by Tuesday
or Wednesday."
The Mandarin Oriental Miami looked to be in good shape. Photo Credit: Robert Silk
Boucher said that the waters from Irma never even made it to
the dunes that buffer Miami Beach's famed Ocean Drive from the sea.
The beach itself, he said, also fared well. Some sand had
shifted around, but work crews should have most areas of the beach back in
shape by midweek. Erosion was more significant in a few areas where the beach
narrows, such as behind the famed Fontainebleau Hotel, Boucher said.
Miami Beach will remain closed for reentry until noon
Tuesday as workers clean roads from trees and power lines. Residents will be
the first people let in.
Debris blocks the entry to the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne. Photo Credit: Robert Silk
Though causeways to Miami Beach were closed Monday
afternoon, the Rickenbacker Causeway that extends from Miami to Key Biscayne
was open.
At the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, which sits just off the
beach, the dimly lit lobby, where power was still out, did not appear to have
sustained any flooding. The resort has mild ornamental damage, to outdoor signs
and lamp posts. The pool, meanwhile, had taken on a muddy shade, likely due to
beach sand blown in by the wind.
The beach on Key Biscayne, near the Ritz-Carlton. Photo Credit: Robert Silk
On Brickell Key, just off of downtown Miami, the waterfront
Mandarin Oriental remained closed Monday, but also did not appear to have taken
on any water.
Just up the street, but inland a couple blocks, the
ultra-modern East Miami Hotel reopened Monday morning.