The NY Post reports today that the Mondrian Hotel on Lafayette Street in SoHo is official.
Rumors about the Mondrian SoHo popped up back in April and we didn't doubt them for a second with Mondrians popping up all over the country.
So what will the East Coast Mondrian have to offer?
The ultra-hip inn at 150 Lafayette St. will have 270 guest rooms, a glamorous restaurant, ballroom, exercise club and a penthouse suite with outdoor party space, reports The Post's Braden Keil. The developers, Morgans Hotel Group and Cape Advisors, say they plan to open their spinoff of the glamorous Hollywood original in late 2009.
This is all really good news for Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears because now they have a place to run to during a Manhattan Meltdown.
This is bad news for DeNiro, Pomeranc, Balazs and any other hotelier with a new hip hotel opening in downtown. The more hotels does not mean the merrier hoteliers.
Down By The Hipster is reporting that the old Chinatown Dialysis Center on Lafayette is set to become the Mondrian Hotel NYC.
That's right, the Mondrian is coming to Chinatown. The project represents Morgans Hotel Group's triumphant return to New York City. Crazy right? We know. The work is being overseen by the conversion experts at HTO. They even have a permit! The hotel will definitely have some big name restaurant and nightlife establishments, but no contracts have been signed with anyone.
This sounds about right. Since the beginning of the year Morgans, and more specifically, Mondrian, have made it perfectly clear that they will be expanding fast and furiously. Well, let's make one thing clear--unlike Yotel or aloft they aren't just firing off expansion press releases without opening hotels.
Back in January Morgans renovated and reopened the James Hotel as Mondrian Scottsdale, and now it appears they are readying a Mondrian Hotel in downtown NYC.
What does this mean? DeNiro, Pomeranc, and Sean MacPherson better ready themselves for some more competition.
What: A party in honor of NY Comic Con featuring the musical stylings of Shitake Monkey, a guest DJ set by Yoko Ono spinning, and Kung Faux episodes in the screening room from 9pm - 11pm. New episodes starting every half hour.
I will be coming into NYC in May for ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair) and I would like to stay in a hip hotel that isn't overpriced.
Well, that isn't an easy feat. You see, hip in Manhattan-speak translates roughly to $400-$450 a night. But if you were wondering where we would tell our friends to stay, here's what we suggest.
· W Union Square: The place has a great restaurant, Olive's and a hip nightlife with Underbar. It's also in the heart of Union Square which is less touristy than say, Times Square. But our main reason for suggesting this hotel is that the rooms are fairly large here. So that $400 rate you fork over will go for some extra breathing room.
· THOR: It's in the hot Lower East Side neighborhood and it oozes hip with decor that will certainly impress a contemporary furniture designer. But since the fair is taking place at the Javits center on the West Side, this might be too much of a trek.
· Speaking of West Side, there are plenty of options in the Meat-Packing District. While abhorred by natives, this is a good area for tourists who want to be in the middle of the downtown action. There's the Gansevoort which will dazzle you with its rooftop views (although the Euro-trash may make you sick). A little farther north is the probably more affordable Maritime Hotel. The trade-off there is the Murphy beds.
· 60 Thompson: While the rooms here are cramped, the hotel has a killer location in Soho and hip nightlife.
· Incentra Village House: a cheap alternative to the Gansevoort at $175 a night for a double. But you will forgo all hipness and coolness here.
This year, HotelChatter launched its first ever Google mash-up maps. Three to be exact and each map had a stand-out hotel we are awarding as the All-Star Hotel.
On the Hollywood Hotel Star Map, the Hollywood Roosevelt stands out because its celebrity scene has been off the hook since the day it opened. Then this year the whole Amanda Scheer-Demme fiasco happened. But even when her VIP club Teddy's reopened again without her, celebs still flocked to the place.
When it came to do a map for NYC, we chose only the downtown hotels because let's face it, who wants to stay in Midtown? The All-Star here is The Hotel on Rivington or THOR. How could we ignore the hash-hammock suggestion from the "Director of Luminous Detail" Nemo Librizzi? Then we found out from our Super Secret Insider that I-bankers are worse guests than touring rock stars. The hotel also rounded out its year by opening up a members-only lounge, the restaurant and the eclectic boutique Annie O. Of course, how could we forget the place has see-through shower windows?
On the Viva Las Vegas map, picking an all-star was difficult because all of the high roller hotels in Vegas we profiled are big stand-outs. But we're going to go with THEhotel at Mandalay Bay. The Alain Ducasse restaurant on the top floor is superb and the strip views are unbeatable. When you venture outside of this boutique hotel within a hotel, hit up the pool area where an employee named Moses is in charge of parting the water at the giant water park.
Hotel Maven carlottavalez wants you to know staying in the Meatpacking District doesn't have to suck. Er, or at least you don't absolutely have to stay at at the Dennis Rodman of hotels. Here is her alternative. Enjoy.
Okay so I'm not sure any celebrities have actually ever stayed at Incentra Village House, a modestly priced Meatpacking hotel (for New York, $175 per night for a double), but it certainly has starred in an endless number of Greenwich Village exterior shoots and it is a damn fine alternative to the Gansevoort--for what it is worth.
Back in 1998 Big Punisher rapped about "Uptown Baby", but we're here to talk about Downtown Baby today. In the fall of 2006 current hip hop fare is completely unlistenable, but Downtown NYC hotels are all the rage.
Screw those stuffy old historic hotels in Midtown and by Central Park. These days whether you are a local, a tourist, or a business traveller, more and more people are sneaking a peak at downtown Manhattan hotels, and we put together a list and mash up to prove it.
We tried to make our hotel map list--wait for it-- as helpful as possible. Important info like room rates, square footage and nearest subway stop are included. Of course, we also added a bit of our own flavor-- Map-Making Moment, Who you might find in the lobby, and Hotel Bar vs. Hotel Restaurant, are all, shockingly items we added from our rigorous research and experience over this past year.
This map obviously is not your run-of-the-mill "Manhattan hotel rooms for under $200" list. After all, these days, $200 won't even get you a night on Central Park bench--though it mightscore you a room here. But, hey, where else can you find out where those "gritty" Gen X'ers on the Lower East Side are most likely to put up their parents for a night.
This map is alive--let's keep it that way. Add comments to the stories, photos to the HotelChatter Photo Pool, and send us tips when the mood strikes.
Note: If you are having Google bubble problems on the map, close out and then reopen. You may have to open and close the bubbles a couple of times.
New Yorkers love exclusivity and the Soho House is no exception. The UK version of the members-only clubhouse opened in the Meatpacking district in 2003 with the offering of 24 hotel rooms for outsiders to book. However, exclusivity often comes at a high price so this isn't quite the hotel of the people.
Room Rules Each room is named with play like the Playpen, Playroom, Playhouse and Playground and feature exposed beams and brick walls of the former warehouse. But this isn't some hard-edge meatpacking district place. The rooms get swank with some crystal chandeliers, antique furniture and oriental rugs, along with hi-tech amenities.
The Playpen bedrooms give you more room than the Soho hotels at 325 sq ft while the Playground gives you 950 sq ft to accommodate your anglo-phile obsesssion.
In the larger rooms (the Playroom and Playground) there are freestanding baths while the Playpen has a spacious walk-in shower. Cowshed hair and body products are the toiletries provided for guests, hand-made and shipped straight from England. Or so they say...
Three Day Average The Playroom was available on Oct. 29 and 30 for $595 a night. But always check their last minute New York deals for cheaper rates, although it's not always guaranteed.
Only in NYC Amenity or Service A possible sighting of Gwenyth Paltrow, Madonna or Stella McCartney and their spawn at the teeny tiny rooftop pool. Or maybe a dead baby doll.
Map-Making Moment Of course, it's the Sex and the City episode when Samantha crashed the pool area.
Hotel Bar vs. Hotel Restaurant You have to be a member of the Soho House or a guest to use the hotel restaurant and bar and this in itself is pretty pricey (Memberships costs $1400 a year, if you can get in). Then once you can actually use the restaurant or bar, you have to fork over a lot for the bill. So in this case, neither place wins.
Who you are most likely to see in the lobby: High brow members only, thank you. Well, members and their chosen guests. Make that, members, their chosen guests, and Luscious--an attractive, well spoken prostitute.
Subway Stop: If you can afford to stay at the Soho House then you wouldn't be caught dead riding the subway.
Quickest route uptown Your Town Car or chauffered Rolls.
0 Comments - Add Yours
by juliana
A reader recently emailed us with this question:
