Where to stay when you leave.
4/29/2008 at 2:00 PM
Tags: Vikram Chatwal, Dream Hotels, Dream Downtown, Hot Hotelier News, Hotel Hype, Hampshire Hotels
Is what you see above: A) another nautical building sticking off the back of the Maritime Hotel? B) a homeless shelter? Or is it C) Vikram Chatwal's $70 million dollar chunk of the Meatpacking District?
As is only proper in the business of building New York hotels, ALL THREE crazy statements are very true. The property at 346 West 17th Street, formerly The Covenant House homeless shelter, was purchased by Vikram's father's company Hampshire Hotels late last year.
Looking like The Maritime in drydock, the Downtown Dream so far has a gutted interior, a fully painted mud-grey exterior and construction that appears to be moving right along...for now.
According to Vikram's company website, his Downtown Dream is due to debut in early 2009, just in time to give The Maritime a run for its summer rush. And yes, just in case you need to hear it again, the Downtown Dream is right next to the Maritime Hotel so that should be a very interesting situation when it opens.
Related Stories:
From Homeless to Hip in Maritime's MePa Shadow [Curbed]
Progress Report: 2008 New York City Hotel Openings
2008 Will Be the Return of Vikram Chatwal
by JetSetCD
6/18/2007 at 9:32 AM
Tags: Vikram Chatwal, Hot Hotelier News, Hotel Hype, Hotel Openings, Dream Downtown, Lamb's Club, Hotel Restaurants
Since getting married and having a baby last year, hotelier Vikram Chatwal has been keeping quiet lately. With the exception of Dream Bangkok, we hardly heard anything from this playboy-turned-actor-turned hotelier.
That is, until now. New York mag reports that Vik will be opening two hotels in the next few years. The first, the Lamb's Club (pictured, right) will be another tourist draw in midtown at 44th Street, close to his Dream and Night hotels.
The Lamb's Club is scheduled for an August 2008 opening (way later than what we predicted) and will feature an upscale restaurant from Lotus partners. A word about the restaurant from Lotus' David Rabin:
"It's not going to be off-putting or stiff," says Rabin. "It will be very top-of-the-line food and top-of-the-line drinks à la Double Seven, but we hope it will be a place where real regulars develop." Will the hotel, with its restaurant on the ground floor and steps up to a bar on the second floor, be as over-the-top as Chatwal's Dream? "It's going to be very subdued and classic," Rabin tells us, "The designs on the restaurant are beautiful woods and stones and rich fabrics. We hope it's going to be one of those places that New Yorkers adopt."
If you're not keen on adopting a place in midtown, never fear. Vikram Chatwal tells the mag that his Dream Downtown outpost in the Meatpacking District is about a year and a half away. Looks like 2008 will be the year of the Vik.
[Photo: NYC Architecture]
Related Stories:
· Chatwal, Zakarian, and the Lotus Boys Teaming Up for Midtown Hotel [New York]
· 2007 New York City Hotel Openings Preview [HotelChatter]
by juliana
0 Comments - Add Yours
