About two years ago, I picked up this awesome Assouline coffee table book from a store that was going out of business. At the time, I hadn’t heard of 1950s architect Morris Lapidus.

Since that time, I’ve read about the famous Fontainebleau in Miami and last weekend, I had the pleasure of staying at the equally stunning Eden Roc for a friend’s birthday.

Grabbing a cocktail at the lobby bar, you can still see the posh, old-school glamour that celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor, Katherine Hepburn and Lucille Ball enjoyed when they frequented the hotel in the 1950s and 60s. I can only imagine the parties that happened here…

At the time the hotel was designed, Morris Lapidus was criticized by his contemporaries for  his large-scale theatrical spaces that he designed solely “to make people happy”. In actuality, Lapidus, a highly skilled architect, married form and function in all of his designs. Curving walls provided visual interest and caught the ocean breezes in the era before central air-conditioning.

The view from the pool remains relatively unchanged. You can almost Imagine pulling up a lounge chair next to Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart.

If you have a chance, the Eden Roc with its glamorous architecture and colorful, celebrity infused past is definitely worth a visit…