Last week, I took my third business trip to Miami this year, and for the first time I opted to stay downtown at the InterContinental Miami rather than in Miami Beach. As it happens, this was also my third stay at an InterContinental property this year; I also stayed at InterContinental Los Angeles Century City and InterContinental Festival City Dubai. Lucky number three all around!

Through my previous stays, the InterContinental stands out among others as an excellent hotel for the business traveler. After a $30 million renovation at the end of last year, I was eager to see what this property was doing to stay competitive in the growing downtown Miami hotel scene.

The updated room designs keep the property on par with other, newer properties I have stayed in. However, it is the updated lobby with customizable screens and lighting designs that really set this renovation apart. Because more than 50 percent of its business comes from business and conventions, the property wanted to be able to provide fully customized signings and color schemes throughout the hotel. The outside of the hotel can also be lit with 19-story-high messages. During the nights I visited, there was a dancing girl on display that could be seen for miles.    

Some of these upgrades have been met with mixed reviews. Perhaps the lights and sounds are too much? Not so, say those on the staff I spoke with. InterContinental is looking to embrace the culture of its community. Miami is bold, trendy and even a little edgy. I would think both critics and fans would agree the new InterContinental is all of those things while still an experience we have come to expect from the brand.

— Danielle Hudena Pitonyak, executive vice president