The Renovated Royalton Gets Mixed Reviews and Ex-CEO Ed Scheetz's Vegas Drama Didn't Help
The New York Times also checked out another NYC hotel in their Sunday edition yesterday, The Royalton Hotel which received a brand-new look recently.
Interestingly, most of the article is about the recent woes of Morgans Hotel Group (the Royalton's managment company) and its former CEO Ed Scheetz whose "girlfriend" ODed in his Las Vegas condo.
The Times says the Royalton which was stripped of the original Philippe Starck interior, has lost the glamorous crowd it once attracted in its heyday of the 1990s. And it remains to be seen whether the hotel's new look will indeed be a new life for the hotel:
On a recent Saturday night, the Royalton's lobby was about half full. Some of those perched on the leather sofas said that they preferred the new design, which they found cozy; others, like Paul Carpenter, an investment banker from London, said they missed the flair of the Starck lobby.
Meanwhile, Ed Scheetz's troubled personal life is only half of the woes for Morgans Hotel Group. With the purchase of the Hard Rock Las Vegas as well as with the expansion of the Mondrian brand and other new hotels, the hotel firm is "operating with crazy leverage" said one analyst.
What that ultimately will mean for you hotel guests for the time being is really high room rates. For example, the new rooms at the Royalton start at $500 a night.
Related Stories:
· Ed Scheetz coverage [HotelChatter]
· Royalton Shake-Up from Top to Bottom [NY Times]
Leave a Comment
Not yet a member? Click here to become a member.
Already a member? Login below: