HotelChatter - Tag: VCH Hotels

New York: The Lamb's Club is Now The Chatwal and Might Actually Open

Jenna — 2008-11-12T14:28:35-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/6929/chatwallong2.jpg" class="top"> Oy. The controversial Lamb's Club Hotel <a href=" http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/Vikram%20Chatwal">Vikram Chatwal's</a> new Times Square project that has pretty much taken 10 years to open and was <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/8/4/161138/4722/hotels/Lamb_s_Club_Hotel_Update_Actually_It_s_quot_The_Chatwal_quot_Now">renamed</a> The Chatwal now has a website and some details that indicate the place might actually open. A little background for those of you not keeping up: back in 1999, the <a href="http://www.observer.com/node/42089">New York Observer reported</a> that Hampshire Hotels (the parent company of VCH) had announced plans to turn the historic Lamb's Club, the legendary Times' Square "theatrical social club" frequented by beloved figures like Fred Astaire and George Gershwin, into a hotel. Locals were sad. In 2006, the <a href="http://www.nypost.com/seven/12312006/news/regionalnews/silence_of_the_lambs_regionalnews_angela_montefinise.htm">NY Post</a> runs a similar story, this time specifically

New York: Snapshot :: Grand Opening Party at Stay.Hotel's Aspen Social Club

Jenna — 2008-10-24T10:05:11-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/aspensocialclubopening.png" class="imgborder"> Last night, we hit up the grand opening of the Aspen Social Club at <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/Vikram%20Chatwal">Vikram Chatwal's</a> new <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Stay.Hotel+NYC/local/1352">Stay.Hotel</a>. We came, we saw, we tasted the food and met some folks (at least one man -- who was not Vikram -- who claimed to be "basically the owner" of the hotel) and managed to snap this shot without looking too shady. We came away with several impressions: the space is awesome. We have to admit that the Aspen theme looks a little bit Disney-world-forced, but hey, it's Times Square and Aspen is far away. The "forest" of birch trees was created by an illusion with mirrors, and that looks crazy cool. A shot of the birch

New York: What's the Difference Between Vikram Chatwal's Stay.Hotel and The Quality Inn? Not Much.

Jenna — 2008-10-03T17:07:57-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/vchotelstay3.jpg" class="imgborder"> Ah! So that's why we didn't hear more about <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/Vikram%20Chatwal">Vikram Chatwal</a>'s brand new <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Stay.Hotel+NYC/local/1352">Stay.Hotel</a> before its official unveiling <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/10/1/9396/92221/hotels/Vikram_Chatwal_Opens_Stay_Hotel_in_Times_Square_Today">earlier this week</a>: the property morphed into the Stay from its former identity, The Quality Inn Times Square, relatively seamlessly. And now we're kinda wondering if maybe the place is basically a Quality Inn with a baller lobby. Here's what happened: we hopped over to <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g60763-d93376-Reviews-Hotel_Stay-New_York_City_New_York.html">TripAdvisor</a> this morning hoping that perhaps someone had already submitted the hotel's first TripAdvisor review. But when we found a handful of Stay.Hotel reviews from September, we were disappointed in ourselves for not stalking Tricky Viky with our usual gusto: it turns out the place was quietly operating as the

New York: Vikram Chatwal Opens Stay.Hotel in Times Square Today

Jenna — 2008-10-01T09:45:44-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/stayhotelroom.jpg" class="imgborder"> <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/Vikram%20Chatwal">Vikram Chatwal</a>: you, sir, are a sneaky one. We have been so busy obsessing over all the drama with <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/Lamb%27s%20Club">Lamb's Club Hotel</a> that you pretty much flew under our radar with this other NYC property you were developing. Apparently, while we were busy doing that, you kept yourself occupied with converting the Quality Inn in Times Square (which was already part of the Hampshire Hotels Portfolio, <a href="http://www.hotelbusiness.com/hb/links/news/news.asp?ID=33953">we hear</a>) into the swanky new <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Stay+Hotel+NYC/local/1352">Stay.Hotel</a> -- which opens today. Yes, for reals. We're psyched. Well, about everything except what appears to be a gimmicky name (there is a period after the word "Stay" on all of their marketing materials; we're just going to ignore that

New York: Lamb's Club Hotel :: 10 Years in the Making and Still Not Open

Jenna — 2008-07-08T16:56:56-05:00

Hey, remember the Lamb's Club Hotel? You know, Vikram Chatwal's new Times Square project opening up next month? No? Allow us to refresh your memory:

Back in 1999, the New York Observer reported that Hampshire Hotels (the parent company of VCH) had announced plans to turn the historic Lamb's Club, the legendary Times' Square "theatrical social club" frequented by beloved figures like Fred Astaire and George Gershwin, into a hotel. Locals were sad.

Fast forward to 2006. The NY Post runs a similar story, this time specifically mentioning that "Hampshire Hotels announced plans to gut the building and construct a five-star, 99-room boutique hotel" to open in 2007.