Tag: Hotel Construction
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NYC Moving For a New Hotel Near Chinatown in 2015
Should we just create a “New NYC Hotel of the Day” category here at HC? It might be necessary at the rate these properties are rolling out.
A report from the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center provides details on a new 20-story, 220-room hotel scheduled to open at 50 Bowery in Spring 2015. The high-rise hotel will be located south of Canal Street and near the entrance of the Manhattan Bridge.
We spoke to Peter Poon Architects (the firm behind the Grand Street Hotel and Hyatt Place) who told us the property, which is currently named "Hotel Bowery" (not to be confused with The Bowery Hotel) will be constructed after the demolition of two existing buildings. Problem is, the application to demolish 50-52 Bowery hasn't been approved and the tear-down process was supposed to begin last month. Seems there's a bit of resistance from the neighborhood to build at 50 Bowery, which has some rich history behind it as an 19th-century entertainment venue.
Once completed however, the foundation, which is scheduled to begin next summer, will be laid down for the hotel which is expected to span from Bowery to Elizabeth Street. For now, the area is one big eye-and-traffic sore.
[Photo:TheLowdownNY.com]
Hotel News / Manhattan Hotels / Four Seasons Hotels / Hotel Construction / Hotel Openings / Hotel Hype / Hotel Delays / → All Tags
After 3-Year Delay, Four Seasons New York Downtown Is Back On Track
Three years ago, we told you to mark your calendars for the 2014 opening of Four Seasons New York Downtown. Well, here we are in 2013 and not much progress has been made. In fact, we were juuust getting ready to strike said reminder from our iCal when we stumbled across this article yesterday throwing our hopes back into the air.
The reports says that the project is once again moving forward—now that financing has been secured—and that the 185-room luxury hotel is now set for a 2016 opening. Originally, this hotel was slated to open in 2011 (ha!), though by now we've come to understand that projected opening dates mean diddly squat and any hotel that opens on time is a rare thing indeed.
But back to the Four Seasons: the report doesn't give us too much new information except that the building will be 926 feet tall (one of the tallest hotels in NYC) and that the lobby will be a three-story atrium with lounges, a ballroom, a restaurant, meeting spaces, and a spa.
Hotel Hell / Hotel Construction / Santa Monica Hotels / Viceroy Hotels / → All Tags
How Mad is The Viceroy Santa Monica Right Now?
This is the scene these days on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica and as you can see, The Viceroy Santa Monica is right in the thick of the construction zone (without having any work done to its own building.)
The construction, which has made this stretch of Ocean Avenue from Pico to Colorado a pain to get through, is all for the Ocean Avenue South, a luxury apartment project from Related Companies, with 318 residences as well as retail, restaurants and walkable plazas. The sales launch for the units should launch this summer with construction going for at least a year beyond that.
Which means that the entire north side of the Viceroy looks out onto a building site and much of its entrance is slowed down by the traffic caused by this annoying scene. While the Le Merigot Hotel and The Loews Hotel also have to put up with ugly construction views, at least their properties are across the street from the actual jackhammering.
Fortunately for the Viceroy, the noise doesn't seem to be bothering too many guests. All of their recent TripAdvisor reviews are really positive except this one which said the construction made it hard to enjoy being outside by the pool. The hotel's director of rooms wrote that work is "expected to lessen."
We sincerely hope so.
Rates this weekend start at around $300.
[Photo: HotelChatter]
Hotel News / Hotel Construction / Hotel Openings / Peninsula Hotels / Paris Hotels / Luxury Hotels / → All Tags
The Peninsula Paris Is Still Under Wraps
There are many reasons why we are pretty excited about the upcoming opening of The Peninsula Paris. It will be the first European venture of the luxury group, and if the renovation efforts over in Hong Kong are anything to go by, accommodations should come with a technology and amenity overload.
Its arrival will see it go head to head with fellow Asians and relative newcomers Shangri-La and Mandarin Oriental, as well as all sorts of longstanding competition that is upping its game. First shots last year showed a monumental building (the former Hotel Majestic) on one of the city’s fancy avenues, proudly displaying giant Peninsula advertisements, yet shrouded under construction covers.
Just over twelve months on, unfortunately much of the hotel is still under wraps, with only a sliver of the back being visible. While opening is still set as a Q4 2013, the subject to change that comes right after has us wondering whether we will still be stepping inside Peninsula Paris this year.
Hotel Renovations / Hotel News / Manhattan Hotels / Historic Hotels / Hotel Construction / Hotel Delays / → All Tags
Will Milford Plaza's Renovations Ever Be Done?
Two years ago, we showed you all, in excruciating detail, just why the Milford Plaza Hotel was in need of a renovation. Well, here we are in 2013, and the hotel's 1,300 rooms are looking waaay better (thanks to a $140 million renovation), with bright neon headboards, iPod docking stations, and 32" flatscreen TVs. But we're still wondering when that dang scaffolding will ever come down.
We're not the only ones losing sleep over this, either. The NY Post recently hinted that the hotel "could set a record for the city's longest-standing sidewalk sheds…with permits for the hideous covering going back to 1990." Come on, Milfy P! There are kids graduating college now who were born after that!
One of the reasons this place is on our radar again is, the other day we were walking back to the subway from Paramount Hotel, which we've been unabashedly having a mini love affair with all week. And after being enchanted by the latter's museum-worthy lobby and light-filled Italian cafe, the Milford Plaza's hulking, wooden plank-shrouded exterior seemed almost offensive.
Ritz-Carlton Hotels / Hotel News / Hotel Openings / Hotel Construction / Hotel Closings / Hotel Renovations / Turks and Caicos Hotels / Marriott Hotels / Florida Hotels / Abu Dhabi Hotels / Naples Hotels / → All Tags
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!
Hotel News / Hotel Design / Gene Kaufman / Hotel Construction / Manhattan Hotels / Cambria Suites / Choice Hotels / → All Tags
Gene Kaufman Will Be Behind Manhattan's First Two Cambria Suites Hotels
Back in December, Cambria Suites broke ground on its first two Manhattan hotels. A third was also begun in White Plains but frankly that interests us less for two reasons: one, it's in Westchester (yawn). Two, unlike the pair of upcoming Manhattan properties, the White Plains Cambria Suites isn't being designed by serial hotel architect Gene Kaufman.
Choice Hotels, the parent company of Cambria Suites, announced yesterday that Kaufman will take charge of the two new hotels in Chelsea and midtown, both opening in 2014.
Kaufman is keeping quite busy these days, as we happen to know he's also working on The Bossert Hotel in Brooklyn, as well as a Holiday Inn in lower Manhattan, set to be the world's tallest Holiday Inn. In all, Kaufman's design firm, GKA, has completed over two dozen new hotels in Manhattan in the last 10 years. Wonder what he's got up his sleeve this time!
See a rendering of both towers after the jump!
Hotel News / Palm Springs Hotels / Hard Rock Hotels / California Hotels / Hotel Construction / → All Tags
The Hard Rock Palm Springs is Happening, but is It a Good Idea?
If you think you've been hearing a lot about Palm Springs lately, the trend is far from over. It was just announced that the 160-room Hotel Zoso in downtown PS will soon be renovated and re-branded as the Hard Rock Palm Springs.
According to TravelPulse, the Hard Rock Palm Springs is due to offer "a VIP rock star suite; Rock Spa; Body Rock workout facility; the Rock Shop featuring Hard Rock merchandise; myriad dining options, a lobby bar, and outdoor spaces for cocktails and lounging."
Hotel News / W Hotels / Amman Hotels / Jordan Hotels / Starwood Hotels / Hotel Construction / → All Tags
Starwood To Open Petra-Inspired W Amman In 2016
Though Amman, the bustling, sprawling capital of Jordan, has plenty to offer in the way of sightseeing, cafes, outdoor markets, and shops, it's never exactly dazzled in the hotel department. Sure, a few upscale options exist (Le Royal Amman, InterContinental Amman, Four Seasons Amman), but many are outdated and have difficulty attracting a younger, more discerning clientele.
But that might be about to change, with the announcement yesterday of a 280-room W Amman, set to open in 2016.
According to HotelierMiddleEast, work is scheduled to begin soon on the 36-storey, mixed-use tower. While the exact location in Amman is unknown, we're told the hotel will sit above eight levels of offices and high-end retail outlets.
Oh, and another detail? Outside of the US, W tends to get a little more adventurous with the design of their hotels (see: W Barcelona, W Shanghai The Bund, opening in 2014), and W Amman will be no exception. Paying homage to Jordan's most popular tourist attraction, the design of W Amman will in fact be inspired by the city of Petra. No easy feat, considering the ancient site dates back over 2,000 years, and was built into sheer rock face!
Hotel Construction / Hotel News / Cambria Suites / Choice Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags
It Was A Busy Weekend For Cambria Suites In New York
Lots of new hotels are going up in New York City these days, but this weekend proved particularly hectic for Cambria Suites, the all-suites hotel chain owned by Choice Hotels.
After breaking ground on a new 130-room hotel in White Plains on Friday, the team then headed to Manhattan on Saturday, where they officially broke ground on a 196-room property in Times Square, followed by another 135-room property in Chelsea (rendering shown above).
The gimmick was meant to underscore Cambria Suites' renewed commitment to entering the New York hotel market. Though the brand first launched in Appleton, Wisconsin in 2007, not much headway has been made on conquering larger cities like New York, Chicago, Washington DC and San Francisco. Now, Cambria seems to be re-thinking its game plan. On Friday, Choice Hotels CEO Steve Joyce told the Washington Post:
"When you start a brand — no offense to anybody from Wisconsin — but that's not usually where you want to start."
Zing!
Hotel News / Hotel Construction / Hotel Openings / Los Angeles Hotels / Sydell Group / → All Tags
First Ever Korean-American-Inspired Hotel Coming To LA Next Summer
Hey LA peeps, new hotel alert: the Sydell Group, who is responsible for two of NYC's big-time, hip and happenin' hotels (Ace New York and The NoMad) is hard at work converting a 388-room hotel at 3515 Wilshire Blvd, in the Koreatown neighborhood of LA.
The hotel will be called The Line, and to better fit in with its surroundings, Sydell is planning to make it "the first lifestyle hotel of its kind in the US to draw upon Korean and Korean-American culture, food and design." Well! We didn't see that coming.
Koreatown has been likened to Bushwick in Brooklyn as LA's newest destination for young, artsy 20-somethings on the hunt for cheap rent. Which fits right in with Sydell's style—do you remember what the neighborhood surrounding the Ace New York was like before the Ace showed up? Yeah, nobody else does either. That's because Sydell managed to turn a formerly-dead midtown block into a trendy hangout spot by making the hotel the destination.
We're guessing they hope to re-create that success in LA with The Line when it opens next summer.
Los Angeles Hotels / Hotel News / Hotel Construction / → All Tags
A Garden-Filled Hotel Grows In Downtown LA
In case you haven't been keeping up, there's lots of hotel action afoot in Los Angeles these days. Along with the announcement of an Ace Downtown LA, plus the recent total and utter Marriott-ization of the LA Live complex, plus rumors of Hyatt taking over the former Downtown LA Marriott....well, like we said, there's a lot afoot.
Now, the LA Times reports that a group of developers are ready to move on the $31 million conversion of an old three-story apartment building near the Staples Center into a 44-room, "park-like" hotel. And as the renderings show, it will be "park-like" indeed: an abundance of trees, plants and ivy will sprout from the hotel's courtyard and landscaped rooftop, giving it a Secret Garden-type look.
Though, aside from all the shrubbery, another detail that caught our eye was the "separate glassed-in structure for an artist-in-residence" that will hang over Hope St. And writers-in-residence? Where will their structure go?
