We're giving up our half-hearted ban on Robert De Niro coverage now that he's got the Nobu Hotel in the works.
The Financial District property will be half-hotel, half-condo and include a spa and a Nobu restaurant outpost. (In case you can't make it the less than two miles to the Nobu in Tribeca.)
The NY Post has it that 77 condos will be up top--where they belong--and the floors below will house the 128 hotel rooms. The restaurant will be on level three. Rockwell Group will handle the interiors, while Moed de Armas & Shannon did the glassy facade.
Curbed notes that this is one of many new condotel developments in the FiDi, joining the W Downtown and the Four Seasons on Church Street. We'll remind you that the Andaz on Wall Street is also joining the club soon.
We've had our suspicions for quite sometime that the Viceroy Hotel brand would be coming to New York City and today we have official word:
Kor Hotel Group, a growing presence in world-class hospitality, is proud to announce its first hotel planned for Manhattan.
Viceroy's first New York City project will offer 168 exquisitely appointed accommodations set within the top 12 newly constructed floors of an office, retail and hotel complex being developed on a full city block at 330 Hudson Street between Charlton and Vandam Streets in New York's Hudson Square neighborhood.
The Hudson Square area is adjacent to both Tribeca and SoHo but the Viceroy's location is actually just steps away from the Holland Tunnel. Yet with MTV Networks relocating across the street from the planned Viceroy site, we're sure the hotel will have no problem getting folks to come down there.
If that doesn't work then the rooftop terrace with an outdoor pool and cabanas will do the trick.
The architecture firm Brennan Beer Gorman and interior designers Yabu Pushelberg will create the Viceroy New York. BBG was the group behind the andarin Oriental Hotels in New York and Washington D.C.; W Union Square; Gramercy Park Hotel and the Peninsula, Bangkok. Toronto-based Yabu Pushelberg has worked for Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts as well as Mandarin Oriental Hotel and Peninsula Hotels.
Right now, the opening date is set as sometime in 2010.
The hotel sits in a massive Gothic-style stone building, outfitted with wrought iron bannisters, a "Refectory" right out of Oxford University, and enough stained glass and "olde-worlde" touches you'll hardly believe you're in Manhattan. There's even a British-style green quadrangle in the center.
The 60 rooms, on the other hand, are definitely 21st century. They come outfitted with flat-screen TVs, WiFi, and custom-designed furniture. Your room fee comes with a free breakfast, but fair warning -- serving stops at 9am, so arrange your wake-up call accordingly.
A few drawbacks? It's a "long walk" to the subway (4 or five blocks). Some posters say it's too far from everything, others say it's wonderfully quiet. The hotel offers no room service, although you have your pick of the restaurants and all-night delis in the neighborhood. And as of press time, renovations are still under way, so inquire about your room location before you book. Some Tripadvisor reviewers complain of kinks that need to be improved.
Still, the building itself, and the location, are worth checking out. There are excellent views of The Empire State Building. It's a brief springtime stroll to Madison Square Garden, and you're not far from The Chelsea Market, Chelsea Piers, and the wonderful gallery scene on the West side.
Rates start at around $285 for a superior room but the availability of rooms is slim so make your rezzies in advance!
In the financial district of New York City, Gild Hall had a soft opening last December--but our sources told us that the hotel was still mid-construction, bring a whole lot of down sides to staying there.
We thought it was time to check in on some recent reviews to see if the construction work is finally over or not, and what people are thinking of this place now that it's been open a couple of months.
For Gild Hall, the news is pretty good. Yes, construction still rates a few mentions (a mid-February guest didn't much like the temporary lobby), but the staff promise that by the time March is over, construction work will be history. One recent guest complained that the thick (fresh) paint on the walls had a much-too-strong smell, but apart from that, most people said they barely noticed the construction work.
Many recent guests have complimented Gild Hall on the friendly and helpful service, and everyone's satisfied with the furnishings too. The nearby parking is quite expensive if you arrive by car. A lot of people have been able to pick up very cheap stays here (as low as $117) but nobody expects to get these prices once the hotel is fully operational.
Robert DeNiro's Greenwich Hotel is slated for an April opening and basically it looks like only Europeans can afford to stay at this place, especially with mounting fears of a U.S. recession.
However, NewYorkology discovered an introductory rate on the hotel's website of $475 a night for a standard courtyard room. Mind you, Ian Schrager's "game-changing" Gramercy Park Hotel didn't even cost this much in its opening weeks.
But it turns out there might be an even cheaper option at the Greenwich Hotel. The Greenwich Hotel Residence Hall, just a few blocks away.
The Greenwich Hotel Residence Hall is on 636 Greenwich Street and is part of NYU's student housing. So you can't necessarily stay here overnight on a weekend jaunt but you may want to look into their summer housing rates. Or if you are dying to stay at the Greenwich Hotel, head to Rhode Island.
Now that hoteliers Eric Goode and Sean MacPherson have purchased the old Hotel Riverview on Jane Street in NYC, the transformation to hip boutique hotel (aka eviction process of long-term "guests" has begun.) But there's a ray of hope for current hotel staffers. Their jobs may be safe. A downtown source emailed us to say:
As of yesterday Wednesday 1/9/08, attorneys for Eric Goode & Sean MacPherson have signed the final documents and final payment for the Riverview Hotel. The hotel is officially their property as of Monday 1/14/08. My sources have told me that they will be keeping some of the staff. (I believe they will have to train a lot of them in proper customer service etiquette, front desk, answering phones properly, etc., etc. They are very rough around the edges if you get my drift.)
We have to give Thompson Hotels credit for getting their latest property, Gild Hall, open without epic delays. But were they able to get it open simply because it's not actually finished? Yes, says one prolific Yelp user:
*This hotel is currently under MAJOR construction.* If you were like us and can literally sleep through jackhammers, then stay here. They DO jackhammer at 9am, but are done around 4-5pm. So if you are in the Financial District and will be out of the room early and out late, THIS IS A GREAT PLACE TO STAY.
Because of the renovation, there is no lobby, no restaurant, no room service, no gym, no bar, no gift shop, no business center, no periodical and CD lending libraries, on-demand movies, no video games and no coffee makers.
Despite all this, I would totally stay here again.
That speaks volumes for the service and the handy location in the Financial District. Maybe there is something to that manifesto.
The Duane Street Hotel continues to baffle us with its ever-shifting opening date, which last we checked was January 2. But word from a HotelChatter source says the soft open will begin December 4--just a week from today.
Another tipster filled us in on the interiors and more:
I was there recently...During my tour they told me the furniture was custom designed for a residential feel, and they were dead on, each room looks like an apartment or a more accurately a bedroom at a friend's pad...One really cool feature (especially if you're a germaphobe) is that they have pillow top mattresses with a removable liner, something I have not seen at any other hotel...The lobby was still in disarray when I visited but the layout and design that was visible looked cool.
Now, we don't know any friends in NYC who have extra bedrooms, but maybe that's just because we don't know the right people. A call to the hotel revealed that while reservations are being taken for January, the opening date is--officially--still up in the air.
We've had our suspicions for quite sometime that the 
