Tag: Hotel Closings
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[UPDATED] The Shelborne South Beach is Closing for Renovations, Maybe for Good
[UPDATE, 5.14.13: Wyndham Hotels has given an explanation of what's going on with the hotel. Scroll down for that statement. UPDATE, 5.16.13: Menin Hotels have also given us a statement saying that would retain ownership of the hotel. Full statement is below the Wyndham statement.
Could there soon be one less hotel in Miami, a town that's been riding a recent hotel boom? Possibly.
We got a tip last week from one of our trusted South Beach spies saying that the Wyndham-operated Shelborne South Beach hotel would be closing and instead would reopen as a condo building. (Already the hotel is partially made up of condo units which are typically rented out to visiting guests.)
Sure enough, we headed to the hotel's website and found this note:
The Shelborne will have a limited number of rooms available June 1 - October 31, 2013 during its amazing transformation into South Beach’s newest lifestyle luxury resort, the Shelborne Wyndham Grand-South Beach.
Despite this "limited number of rooms" mention, we've got word that the hotel is indeed closing completely during the renovations and there are still whispers that it will reopen only as a timeshare. We're still sifting through the Shelborne shards but this is what we do know:
The hotel underwent a renovation back in 2011 so at first glance, it may seem too soon to have yet another facelift. But the reality is, some of those condo-hotel units are in bad shape as the owners were not obligated to renovate their units. HotelChatter saw how dire some of those rooms were when we stayed at the property back in December. This was our take on the place:
The Shelborne's suite had last been furnished in the early 1990s, the dining chairs were broken, the mattress was so old you could feel the springs, the tables were scratched and water-damaged, the art was like that of a greasy strip mall generic Asian restaurant, the floors felt so dusty we were relieved to have brought slippers from our last hotel, and the power outlet actually shocked us as we tried to plug in our phone charger. Firetrap much?
Need more convincing of the shifty state of the Shelborne? Just take a gander at some of the hotel's recent TripAdvisor reviews.
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Réhabilitation Of The Ritz Paris Is Underway
We’ve previously talked about the intense competition in the Parisian palace (and palace-adjacent; not every luxury hotel gets to use the term) hotel market. Despite eye-wateringly expensive rates, appetite for these hotels knows no bounds it seems. Let’s recap for a minute what’s been happening shall we?
Prince de Galles is due to reopen right next door to Four Seasons George V (which is renovating floor by floor and added a penthouse), Le Bristol added a whole wing, and so will Plaza Athenée, Raffles let Philippe Starck loose on the Royal Monceau, Le Meurice spruced up its five Presidential Suites, Hotel de Crillon should become a Rosewood after a two-year closure, and then there is the small matter of the three Asian heavyweights Shangri-La, Mandarin Oriental, and soon, Peninsula (more on that later) muscling their way into the market as well.
No wonder then that last August, perhaps the most famous of them all - The Ritz Paris - also closed its doors for the first time since opening in 1898 and began a two year soup-to-nuts restoration program.
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A Day of Openings, Closings, and Revivals for Ritz Hotels
Today seems to be a banner day for Ritz-Carlton Hotel news, we've got three pieces of juicy goss that just needs to be shared. Here's the tea:
In our recent Abandoned Hotels story, we lamented the construction of Molasses Reef, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve resort had been languishing untouched in the Turk and Caicos since 2008 (it began in 2001) and showed no signs of ever coming to fruition. Well, a miracle has happened and the project is back on! According to HotelsMag.com, they've received confirmation on the private (you can only arrive by boat, small plane or helicopter) 125-unit resort's opening from the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company.
HotelChatter also checked with our RC sources, and the luxury Caribbean resort is indeed a go. We were told an official release will soon come. European developers have taken over with an apparent $130 million investment to complete a project that's already had $300 million sunk into it by previous interested party, Logwood Development. Construction is expected to resume this year (keep your fingers crossed).
But wait, there's more Ritz-Carlton rumblings for ya!
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Oheka Castle Is Crumbling (But TripAdvisor Reviews Are Still Good)
A confession: The Great Gatsby was one of our favorite novels as a ninth grader. The fancy houses. The fast cars (well, minus the tragedy). The spectacular parties. We loved all of it. So we're guessing we would also have loved visiting a place called Oheka Castle Hotel & Estate in Huntington, NY, which supposedly inspired a portion of the F. Scott Fitzgerald masterpiece.
Unfortunately, the 443-acre property is now facing foreclosure, as the WSJ recently revealed. Sadness!
The castle, which was built in 1919 and contains 32 luxury hotel suites, is supposedly the second largest private estate in the entire country, and has been visited by everyone from the Citizen Kane film crew in 1941 to Anthony Weiner, who got married there in 2010. And yet, we have yet to be invited for dinner...
See below for a few excerpts from recent TripAdvisor reviews!
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'Hotel Hell' Fails to Save The Cambridge Hotel
While Juniper Hill Inn, the first hotel featured on Gordon Ramsay's Hotel Hell was poorly managed, a bit of an eyesore in some parts and bleeding money, it now looks like a comfy country inn compared to the historic Cambridge Hotel in upstate New York.
The 16-room hotel was bought in 2007 by ex-military man John Imhof and his wife Tina who had no prior experience with running a hotel. Yet while they are only a few years into ownership, the hotel looks like it hasn't been decorated since, well, ever. It's just got a hodgepodge of stuff lying about, most of it creepy items and as Gordon says, "The place is littered with freaky pictures."
Inside the rooms is even worse with garish floral wallpaper, mismatched floral linens with holes in them and a scary doll collection. These go for about $105 during the week, $145 on the weekend. Guests complain of dirty towels with hair on them, uncomfortable beds and broken locks. Downstairs the restaurant is serving meat boiled in bags and apple pie that's been microwaved. This coming from a hotel that boasts about being the birthplace of pie a la mode on the hotel sign!
Topping it all off is the ghost of a four-year old girl Alice who died at the hotel in 1913. Eeee!
Can Gordon really save this place? Well, we kind of ruined the surprise last week when we found out that the hotel actually closed in June but now we're going to find out why the place didn't make it.
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A Delano Will Open in Las Vegas After All (Inside The Mandalay Bay)
UPDATE: For more detes on what will change at THEhotel when it turns into a Delano, head over to VegasChatter.
Several years ago, there was a much-hyped Delano Hotel from the Morgans Hotel Group planned for Las Vegas, right on the Strip in the middle of all the action, in a fancy new complex called Echelon on the site of the old Stardust casino. But thanks to the economic woes, that Delano never materialized and the lot on Las Vegas Boulevard where the Delano was to be built has been vacant ever since.
But today comes HUGE NEWS about the Delano's return to Las Vegas--THEhotel at Mandalay Bay will cease to exist next year and in its place will be The Delano Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay. Here are the official announcement details:
As Delano’s second outpost in the United States, Delano Las Vegas will transport the iconic brand from the shores of South Beach to the Las Vegas Strip. Once completed, guests will experience the Delano lifestyle, and its unique blend of effortless luxury and impeccable service at the world-renowned Mandalay Bay.
In addition, Morgans Hotel Group plans to introduce several new food and beverage concepts at Mandalay Bay to be managed by The Light Group. Venues will include a casual American bistro by Chef Brian Massie, a Japanese dining destination by celebrity chef Akira Back and a new vision for Red Square. The Light Group will once again reinvent Las Vegas nightlife with a revolutionary nightclub. All venues are scheduled to open in 2013.
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Au Revoir! The Ritz Paris Has Officially Closed
Yes, even the Hemingway Bar is closing at The Ritz.
The day has finally come--The Ritz Paris has closed its gilded doors. The legendary luxury hotel, which first opened in 1898, has closed for two years for a massive renovation project. Here's the letter the general manager sent out to guests (and anyone who's ever subscribed to their newsletter):
The legendary Ritz Paris has closed its doors to embark on a two-year restoration program.
Rooms, suites, restaurants and bars, the spa and the famous Ritz Escoffier cooking school will all be carefully restored and recreated under the direction of the internationally renowned interior designer Thierry W. Despont.
We will ensure that the charm and personality of the Ritz Paris is kept alive and that we continue to satisfy even the most discerning travelers.
We certainly hope that you will follow our progress on www.ritzparis.com or through our social media channels.
All of us at the Ritz Paris are looking forward with great anticipation to welcoming you back in 2014 for the reopening of your home in Paris.
Sincerely,
Christian A. Boyens, General Manager
Frank J. Klein, President
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Bar Basque At the Eventi Hotel Is No More
We remember our first time checking out the second-floor restaurant lounge known as Bar Basque inside the Eventi Hotel, and thinking, 'Boy, that's a lot of red.' But despite its other winning features (the Big Screen visible from inside the bar, the delicious tapas, the weekly jazz nights), the venue simply wasn't able to keep up and has officially closed down for good, with very little word on what might be opening up there next.
It's not an easy life being a hotel restaurant in New York City, as The Nolitan and the ex-Cooper Square Hotel can bitterly attest to. Dining crowds can be fickle, and if a place doesn't rub them the right way, they'll drop it faster than an oven-roasted Yukon gold potato.
Though we don't remember there being anything particularly wrong with Bar Basque, then again, we did pay a visit there a month or two ago on a weeknight and found the entire place completely empty.
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Hotel Jerome in Aspen is Closing for Renovations, Will Still Be 'Totally Jerome'
The way the rooms used to look at Hotel Jerome.
Come next ski season, the luxe Hotel Jerome on Aspen's Main Street will be sporting a totally new look thanks to an extensive remodel which should begin at the end of this summer.
The Aspen Daily News reports:
All 94 rooms will be refurbished with new carpet, wallpaper and amenities, along with overhauls of the lobby, dining room and ballroom. New offices and a new spa with three treatment rooms will be added to the basement.
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Keep The Memory Of Four Seasons Toronto Alive By Signing Their E-Guestbook
Don't worry, Four Seasons Toronto isn't being completely obliterated; it's just moving two blocks over to a new 55-story building on Yorkville Ave. The new location is scheduled to open this summer, but in the meantime, Four Seasons is hellbent on capturing a bit of the nostalgia now felt by guests who have stayed at the old property over the years.
In order to do this, the hotel has set up (what else?) an e-guestbook on Facebook. First, users must "like" Four Seasons Toronto's Facebook page, then, they're granted access to the Four Seasons Toronto Memory Book, a compendium of warm, fuzzy memories ranging from engagements to Bar Mitzvahs to the Toronto International Film Festival. Though our favorite had to be the person who fondly recalled "waiting for the elevator."
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Now You Can Take A Piece Of Hiro Ballroom Home With You
The time has come for the Maritime Hotel's Hiro Ballroom and Matsuri restaurant to close. After many years, many celebrity performances, and many penis festivals, the party has finally come to an end.
But that doesn't mean you can't still experience all the cool, Asian-inspired decor of the space long after it's gone. Eater reports that everything inside the ballroom and restaurant will be auctioned off starting next week. You like paper lanterns? You got 'em. You need a new Japanese bathroom sign? Now you know where to go. For all we know, they might even have some extra hot pots and sake barrels kicking around somewhere too.
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Mon Dieu! First The Ritz, Now The Hotel de Crillon is Closing
Now that there has been an influx of new luxury hotels to Paris (Mandarin Oriental, The Shangri-La, The W and the forthcoming Peninsula Paris), it looks like the city's old guard hotels have decided to fix themselves up.
First, The Four Seasons George V began doing some floor-by-floor renovations. Then The Ritz announced it would be closing later this summer for two years to complete a massive overhaul. Now, comes word that the Hotel De Crillon will also close for two years on November 1st. Details are in French here but aside from upgrading the rooms, it looks like the biggest addition will be a brand new spa.
It's a shame the hotel has to close for two years to do so but it's not like we ever had a chance at staying there since rooms go for about $1,000 a night.
