[intro]Lindsay Pollock Takes on W Hotel, Aby Rosen & Art Basel Miami[/intro]

An odd little spat broke out online earlier this week when Lindsay Pollock posted commentary on the W South Beach Hotel identifying the rates for December’s Art Basel Miami art fair as a minimum of $1219 per night:

This positions the W as one of the priciest spots to lodge in South Beach. […] Rosen’s decision to partner with the aging, wanna-be chic W brand for a hotel positioned as a premium luxury hotel and condo doesn’t bode well. The W is located on the oceanfront site of what was formerly a more reasonably priced Holiday Inn. The hotel’s developers, including Rosen, plowed hundreds of millions into the venture, just as the U.S.-– and particularly Florida—real estate, tourist and leisure businesses have tumbled.

A few hours later, Demetra Prattas fired back in the comments correcting Pollock’s reporting:

Turon Travel Inc. is the official travel agency for Art|Basel|Miami Beach|3-6|Dec|09, and as such we have the most current and best information about hotel bookings for the show. For example, Turon’s rate at the W South Beach during Art Basel Miami Beach is $569.00 per night.

New W South Beach: Asking $1,629 a Night During Art Basel Miami Beach 2009 (LindsayPollock.com)