The Chicago Sun-Times Goes Inside Simon Van Kempen's Hotel

April 29, 2009 at 9:11 AM | by Jenna | 0 Comments

Oh, goodness: an ambitious newspaper reporter has finally done it. The Chicago Sun-Times has gone into The Hotel Chandler, the hotel managed by Real Housewives of New York City's real hubby Simon van Kempen, and they've lived to tell the tale.

The hotel has received curiously little press coverage and, frankly, we don't know too much about the place — but the Sun-Times went where we were scared to: inside, on a guided tour with Simon himself, who says, "we have had guests who've refused to check out until they get my autograph or photograph. It doesn't happen every day, but it happens." Interesting.

The purpose of the article, we assume, was to shed a bit of light on the hotel itself and, um, settle once and for all what exactly goes on during Simon's fabled day job.

Here's the dirt:

...the hotel is a bargain by New York standards. Simon lowered the rates earlier this year to better compete in a down economy. Standard rooms that normally start at $350 a night can be had for as little as $189. Junior suites, which sleep up to four, start at about $350. Occupancy rates are hovering around an enviable 96 percent, Simon reports.
To keep up with the Joneses, he plans to remodel the lobby this summer. And he's been shopping for new bedskirts -- at Zarin Fabrics. But don't expect Ramona's skin care line to show up in Hotel Chandler's bathrooms anytime soon. I doubt Skinny Girl's muffins will make it onto the breakfast buffet, either.

Yawn. The hotel itself was remodeled in 2007, and the small-ish rooms all got modern touches like flat-screen TVs and Aveda toiletries.

Not a whole lot of hot gossip, we guess — but at least we know the Hotel Chandler is a legitimate operation (what? Lots of things are staged for the cameras on that show) and Simon has a real job.

[Photo: Chicago Sun-Times]

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