SLS Hotel in LA will not open until September 30th , according to its website which means the hotel is actually only missing its (second) predicted opening date of August 1 by about two months. Still, we're not so convinced this new date will hold either. There is a LOT of work that needs to be done on the hotel.
The luxury travel blog, The Informed Traveler actually had a date listed last week for the soft-opening as August 19th so we assume this new date is a recent thing. But when it does soft-open:
With this soft opening date, insiders tell us that the guest room floors will be available, along with the Guest Lobby and a few of the restaurants (not all five outlets). The pool, ballroom and other facilities will open later in the fall.
Further complicating matters is that the official opening is apparently, December 1, 2008. Oy.
However, a positive
sign that the hotel is close to opening? SLS has hired a general manager, John Dailey, who comes from Shangri-La Hotels in Asia.
Can you help us determine when SLS will actually be open to book a room? Let us know.
If things weren't already bad enough for Barry Sternlicht's Seattle baby, Avalon Holdings (a significant partner and the original developer of the hotel) has sold its entire interest in the project to Starwood Capital.
The D.O.B. issued a stop-work order on the project because of a questionable crane in use for the construction.
The crane was manufactured by Kodiak and owned by New York crane -- just like the two cranes that collapsed this year -- and was to be taken out of service until a thorough inspection was completed.
But things didn't quite go as planned: The Real Deal (via the NYDN) reports that cracks were found "in the turning mechanism of a tower crane," which means the green light likely won't be coming any time soon.
July 15 is a big day around the HotelChatter Headquarters here today. That's when the first Element Hotel in Lexington will open. That's when the Thompson LES was to open before it got pushed back to July 22. And now July 15 is the new opening date for the SushiSamba restaurant and SugarCane lounge inside the Palazzo Las Vegas.
We had a feeling the opening date of June 17 would come and go for this eagerly anticipated restaurant. As we strolled through the Palazzo shops over the weekend, we noticed work was still going on behind black curtains at Sushi Samba (see pic above.) And indeed a rep confirmed the delay.
Sad news for anyone going to Vegas between now and then. But hopefully some of you are going later in the summer so as to experience the yummy goodness of SushiSamba.
A Mandarin Oriental hotel is set to open sometime in 2010 in Dallas in a towering 43-story skyscraper in Victory Park (just across the street from the W Dallas. Or it was set to open.
The Dallas Morning News has been following the construction closely and recently there have been some significant scaling back of the work. Two construction cranes were taken down and a planned parking garage is almost finished but at a much smaller sized than expected.
And most tellingly:
Workmen painted over colorful advertisements for the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, which were on the fence at Olive Street and Victory Avenue.
The Victory Park Internet site says that the project will open in 2010. And a spokeswoman in Mandarin Oriental's New York office said the same thing. But she acknowledged that the opening date of the hotel is up to the developers and "subject to change."
On the MO's website for hotels under development, Dallas is indeed listed for 2010. However, work needs to start now if that hotel is going to open in time. We hate to say it, but with the markets in bad shape, this kind of news might get more and more common.
We heard whispers last week that the David Barton Gym at the Gansevoort South wouldn't open on time this month and today we have confirmation--an email to all Miami members about the delay from DB himself.
Hammers are swinging, dust is flying and equipment is being polished and readied for delivery. Because of a backlog at the Building Department, construction is now scheduled for an April completion and official opening in mid-May. I'm so sorry for the inconvenience this delay may cause and I promise that in May you'll be pumping away in the best gym you've ever been to.
For current DBG members, they can workout inside the Flamingo South Beach which houses a much smaller facility. The club is also offering outdoor workout programs on the beach at the hotel until the gym opens.
As for the hotel, reservations are still being taken for select rooms on March 24th. But we don't expect much to be open aside from that. Let's hope the building dept. backlog was just for the gym and not for the hotel as well.
The opening of the Gansevoort South seems as if it's just out of our reach and we can hardly stand the wait, especially when the date keeps getting pushed back.
Last we heard the hotel would open sometime in the second week of March but when we looked at the hotel's website today, rooms were not open until March 24th. And the only rooms available were a Grand City View king at $760 a night and a few larger suites starting at $1,225 a night.
More rooms open up on April 1 with deluxe double rooms starting at $595 a night. We've also heard that the David Barton Gym won't open until May which makes us a bit worried.
That said, if you plan on booking a room because you just can't wait to get in there, we advise calling the reservations line to speak with a human and get the straight scoop instead of relying on the website (1-305-604-1000.)
Hotels are often thought of as places to escape from your everyday life. Places to have memorable experiences whether in the room or outside. Whether you're on a beach or in a busy city, hotels are supposed to be your safe haven.
But of course, this is real life and not an American Express commercial. Shit happens.
And it seems to happen more and more in these parts for Britney Spears. Word is that the Beverly Hills Hotel has blacklisted her. This is obviously good news for us but not the bit where Page Six mentions Britney typically ignores these type of bans. Is any place in LA safe anymore?
In other news: · Models get jacked: Two men made off with $20,000 after robbing a modeling audition at the Hilton Chicago. [Chicago Sun-Times] · Suicide in Brooklyn: An accountant for the AP is found dead in the bathtub at the Best Western. [NewsDay] · Crappy Economy Woes: The Four Seasons in Tamarack, Idaho hits a construction snag. [Hotel-Online] · Too Expensive: Moscow hotels now really expensive. [Moscow Times] · No Workout For You: We are hearing the Gansevoort South's David Barton Gym won't be open until May 15th. Uh-oh, this does not bode well.
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by juliana
