“Hey, you better look after your eyes, they gonna see so many things, they’re going to hurt,” Rafael, my Cuban-born driver tells me as he takes me on the short drive from Miami International Airport to Wynwood.
This trendy district of the Florida city has become famous for its graffiti and street art, independent shops and a growing range of restaurants.
But Rafael tells me the low-rise streets of Wynwood were not always so welcoming. “Back in the Nineties this area was where all the drug dealers used to be, there was no way you would come here – nowadays the traffic’s bad because it’s so popular.”
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He drops me off at the Moxy Miami Wynwood, a newly opened hotel at the centre of the district which is as vibrant as the streets surrounding it.
The entrance is through a hall decorated in a kaleidoscope of colours before you take the lift to reception situated at the bar, which doubles as a lounge and games room with foosball (table football), Jenga and a giant shuffleboard table available to keep you entertained.
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The decor of my room is equally playful with graffiti motifs covering the bathroom door and unlikely touches such as a grey-and-orange retro telephone.
Embarking on a tour of the district to learn about the street art with Wynwood Buggies, my guide and “philosopher” Marco drives us in the six-seater golf cart for just a few metres before he stops to point out a giant mural on the side of the building.
The painting is of a woman swimming among sharks by The Amazing Ske – the same woman who is depicted looking pretty shocked in the hotel’s lift.
Marco tells us that the gentrification of the area, which is seven streets by nine streets wide, began in 2009 when developers started buying up properties, having realised the combined potential of the graffiti-covered buildings and the prime location near to the airport, Downtown and Miami Beach.
