A Gold Mammoth by the Beach, a Gold Unicorn Behind a Reservation
Two Damien Hirst works sit in one Faena block and ask for different visits. The gold mammoth stands outdoors behind the hotel, no ticket and no booking. The gold unicorn is inside Pao, where a table, a reservation and elegant chic dress come first.
🗺️ Beach side and street side of one block
🌊 The gold mammoth behind the hotel
Gone But Not Forgotten has stood on Faena's beach side since 2014: a woolly mammoth skeleton three meters tall, plated in 24-karat gold inside a gold-framed vitrine. It faces the sand from the lawn beside Mammoth Garden, the events ground Faena books for receptions of up to 150. Faena publishes no ticket, no opening hours and no gate hours for the work; the lawn beside it is a bookable venue, so what interrupts a look is an event, not a schedule.
🦄 The unicorn behind the reservation
Pao serves Tuesday to Saturday from 6:30 p.m., to 10 on Tuesday and Wednesday, to 11 from Thursday. The golden unicorn stands on a platform at the center of the oval room, under the gold dome, with the tables set around it. A reservation buys a seat in that room, not a place beside the sculpture. Dress is elegant chic, no shorts, sandals or beachwear. Entrees run $47 to $95, desserts $19, and the Michelin Guide files the room in its $$$ band.
🚶 One block, two thresholds
One block holds both, with different thresholds. The mammoth is outdoors and sells no ticket; the unicorn needs a reservation, a change of clothes and roughly a hundred dollars a head before wine. Arrive off Collins Avenue at 3201, or leave the car at Faena Forum on 3300 Collins: Faena lists a $35 valet rate for guests dining at Pao, subject to the rules that day. The walk between the two is a corridor and a change of clothes.
