What Is So Game Changing About The Gramercy Park Hotel?

July 19, 2006 at 8:33 AM | by markj | 1 Comment

Last month Ian Schrager was shouting from rooftops about the death of design hotels, proclaiming that he is going to "change the game again" when New York's Gramercy Park Hotel opens next month.

This month, all is quiet on the Schrager front, an extremely eerie development less than a month before open. We know what you are thinking--delayed open. However, a source close to the situation tells us everything appears to be on schedule for August 8th, a fact fellow hotelier Jason Pomeranc no doubt finds 'game-changing' in and of itself, but we still have not a clue what makes this hotel worthy of sweeping sea change proclamations.

So, we decided to compare and contrast the websites of a Schrager old game hotel, the Hudson, and his first new game hotel, the Gramercy Park Hotel, to see if there were any clues about this alleged new hotel paradigm--

Old Game: Hudson Hotel:

·$289 for a room on August 8, 2006
·Room is 144 square feet, with a double bed, cd player, and available high speed Internet.

Brief Website Description:

Philippe Starck's design includes chartreuse-lit escalators that sweep guests to a 40-foot high ivy-covered lobby, an enormous indoor/outdoor Private Park and a ceiling fresco by world-famous painter Francesco Clemente.

New Game: Gramercy Park Hotel:

·$250 for a room on August 8, 2006
·Superior Room is 220 - 275 square feet,with a flat screen television, a custom loaded ipod, available high speed Internet, and a key to the private park.

Brief Website Description:

A stunning rebirth of a bohemian legend located across from the only private park in New York City. The next generation five-star luxury hotel perfected in an extraordinary collaboration with Julian Schnabel.

Now maybe we are missing something, it certainly wouldn't be the first time, but to us, it certainly looks like the nuances between the old hotel game and the new game are as follows--

Hotel Game Changes:

·About 100 more square feet of room space
·You get a key to the new park, where you could just stroll into the old park (we know there is a big park difference here)
·Philippe Starck was traded for Julian Schnabel

Oh, and before you say "what about the price". The above quoted Gramercy Park Hotel price is only available until September 4, after that date Schraeger and crew will be charging somewhere in the neighborhood of $555 a night, according to their website.

Someone set us straight. Hotel PR folks, Schrager groupies from the seventies, people who pass by the Gramercy Park Hotel on their way to work. Anyone and everyone, send us photos, info, and game changing facts to tips@hotelchatter.com.

We know Hudson Hotel are the size of big coffins, but this whole "revolution" can't be all about 100 square feet, right?

Related Stories:
· Gramercy Park Hotel Coverage [HotelChatter]

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