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Schrager to Buy Chicago's Ambassador East Hotel?

Where: 1301 N State Pkwy [map], Chicago, IL, United States, 60601
June 30, 2009 at 9:04 AM | by Jenna | 0 Comments

Hot gossip for the oh-so-early morning: Crain's is reporting that Ian Schrager is in talks to buy the not-so-buzzed-about-anymore Ambassador East Hotel in Chicago (along with its Pump Room restaurant).

Obviously, he would rename and completely revamp the 285-room, somewhat distressed property. Per Crain's:

Mr. Schrager hasn't decided on the hotel's new name, or whether he'd rename the Pump Room, where celebrities from Bette Davis to Frank Sinatra to Natalie Wood once held court. During the heyday of cross-country train travel, the late Sun-Times newspaper columnist Irv Kupcinet was a fixture in the restaurant's Booth One, where he interviewed movie stars passing through Chicago on trips between the coasts.

Aww, bringin' back an old scene-y place. We suppose that if anyone can take something and make it trendy again, it woulde be the Schrager-man — and though the deal between Schrager and the owners is supposedly still "in talks," there are whispers that the owners (who paid $44.5 million when they purchased the hotel a couple years ago) have already accepted his $25 million offer.

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A New Ian Schrager Hotel is Coming to Manhattan

Where: 1414 Avenue of the Americas [map], New York, NY, United States, 10019
May 13, 2009 at 9:37 AM | by Jenna | 3 Comments

Ian Schrager has been sorta quiet lately, no? After announcing plans for Edition Hotels (the Schrager/Marriott hybrid, about which we've heard very little lately, come to think of it), he kinda dropped off our radar — but, as it turns out, he's poised to make a big ol' hotel industry comeback on his own, too, and has got something up his sleeve for Manhattan.

The New York Post reported this morning that the Schrager-man has just worked out an a deal to turn an office building at Avenue of the Americas and 58th Street in Manhattan into "not just a two- or three-star establishment, but a 'six-star' luxury Ian Schrager Hotel."

This ain't no Edition, folks (or at least it really doesn't seem to be): this is going to be an Ian Schrager Company project (he's got something in the works in Miami as well), and we're pretty psyched to see what's up his sleeve on this one — and though we're prepared to stalk the hell out of this baby when the time comes, work isn't going to start on the new hotel until at least 2010 when some leases expire and the building empties out.

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Can a Danny Meyer Restaurant Help the Gramercy Park Hotel?

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 2 Lexington Avenue [map], New York, NY, United States, 10010
April 13, 2009 at 4:38 PM | by Jenna | 1 Comment

What do you do when your once-super-hyped, oh-so-trendy NYC hotel has suddenly become hype-free, is no longer doing so well financially, and — to top things off — its eagerly-anticipated restaurant kinda flopped when it opened?

If you're Ian Schrager and if the property in question is the Gramercy Park Hotel, you bring in the big guns. And as any foodie knows, when it comes to restaurants in NYC, the "big guns" come in the form of a restauranter by the name of Danny Meyer.

The New York Times reports that Mr. Meyer — the man behind popular Manhattan restaurants like Union Square Cafe, Eleven Madison Park, Blue Smoke and Gramercy Tavern — is teaming up with Schrager to cook up a new restaurant concept at the GPH. Per the Times:

The restaurant, Mr. Meyer's first new concept since The Modern opened four years ago, will be "Italian-inspired" and will be designed by David Rockwell. A chef has not been named nor has the restaurant’s name been decided. It is scheduled to open in the fall. Mr. Meyer will also be responsible for the food and beverage operations elsewhere in the hotel, including room service, the private roof-top club and banqueting.

Hmmm. Gramercy Trattoria? No? Okay.

[Photo: Ruby Washington/The New York Times]

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Gramercy Park Hotel Flaunting Their Deals on Social Networks

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 2 Lexington Ave [map], New York, NY, United States, 10010
March 20, 2009 at 11:32 AM | by JetSetCD | 2 Comments

Looks like someone isn't exactly weathering the recession very well: Ian Schrager's goth-licious Gramercy Park Hotel is humbling itself before the altar of hotel discounts to release some pretty sweet room offers for spring in Manhattan. First, the GPH hit the social networks, sending out an email blast to members of the invitation-only ASmallWorld, also known as pretentious Facebook for the older set.

According to Down By the Hipster, the elite member of the website would be privy to a buy-one-get-one-half-off deal, or as Payless likes to call it, a "Bogo."

Normally we would ignore such a restricted offer, seeing as how we don't know a soul who even uses ASmallWorld — except for the fact that the Gramercy Park Hotel has opened up the offer to anyone who swings by their own website and clicks on the deal. From Februrary 22 through April 30, every night booked at their "best available rates" will yield you the following night at 50% off.

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Top That! Edition Hotel Will Open in Istanbul in December

Where: Istanbul, Turkey
March 12, 2009 at 4:06 PM | by juliana | 0 Comments

UPDATE: A rendering of the building is now pictured after the jump.

South Beach, DC, Honolulu, Istanbul. What do all these destinations have in common? They have all, at one point or another, been designated the location for the very first Edition Hotel, the new luxury hotel collection spawned by Bill Marriott and Ian Schrager.

Last we checked, Edition Honolulu would open in sometime in 2010. The Edition DC project was starting to look rather unlikely and we've got no idea what happening with Edition South Beach.

But now there's been an announcement that Edition Istanbul will open before all these other jokers on Dec 15, 2009.

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Viceroy Miami's 'Signature' Restaurant To Get a Michelin-Starred Chef

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 485 Brickell Avenue [map], Miami, FL, United States, 33131
March 11, 2009 at 10:26 AM | by juliana | 0 Comments

Page Six is reporting that the Viceroy Miami unnamed "Signature Restaurant" atop the 15th floor will actually get a chef very soon. And a very celebrated chef at that.

MICHELIN-starred chef Michael Psilakis and partner Donatella Arpaia, who own Anthos and two other hot Manhattan eateries, are branching out. The pair just inked a deal with Kor Hotel Management to launch a restaurant at the Viceroy Miami in developer George Perez's IconBrickell complex in the city's downtown. The as yet-unnamed 15th-floor dining spot will open next month and focus on seafood.

The duo apparently went to the Viceroy to seal the deal a few nights ago and celebrated with Kor Hotel Group founder Brad Korzen, his wife and the hotel's decorator Kelly Wearstler, Sharon Stone, Selma Blair, Mad Men's Jon Hamm, decorator Colin Cowie, and even Ian Schrager himself.

That seems random, doesn't it? We wonder if Ian plans to use Michael Psilakis for his new Edition Hotels? Oh right, those hotels won't be open for a while.

[UPDATE: A Viceroy rep just told us that Ian Schrager was not at the celebration as per Page Six's report. Let's hope he was off somewhere working on Edition.]

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First Edition Hotel Now Opening in Honolulu, So They Say

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 1777 Ala Moana Blvd [map], Honolulu, HI, United States, 96815
February 25, 2009 at 9:59 AM | by AndrewC | 0 Comments

Marriott may have cancelled their plans for The Edition Chicago hotel but they must want us to know they are still very serious about their Edition Hotels brand, the love-child of Ian Schrager and Bill Marriott. They just aren't quite sure when the due date is.

For a while now, we thought the DC Edition would open first. This we liked because DC is like a four-hour car ride from us. But it looks like we may have to travel a heck of a lot further than that.

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Stop the Press: Marriott Cancels The Edition Hotel Chicago

Where: 150 E. Ontario St. [map], Chicago, IL, United States
February 20, 2009 at 8:31 AM | by juliana | 0 Comments

Much like real-life newspaper editions keep shutting down, plans for the Edition Hotel in Chicago, one of the hotels announced from the partnership of Bill Marriott and Ian Schrager, have been effectively stopped. Crain's Chicago reports:

Washington, D.C.-based Marriott and Chicago-based Monaco Development LLC say they have terminated their management agreement for the 330-room hotel in a high-rise planned at 150 E. Ontario St. Marriott and renowned hotel designer Ian Schrager launched the Edition brand in early 2008, with plans to open as many as 100 hotels around the world.

While this saddens hospitality nerds like us and especially those among us who were eagerly anticipating Edition in several top markets, there will still be a hotel rising up in that location. Developer Monaco is still searching for a hotel management company to run the building once it's completed (in 2011.)

And Marriott is still looking at different options in Chicago for an Edition Hotel. But obviously in a terrible economy like the one we are now living, we aren't even expecting Edition to open more than a handful of hotels over the next few years.

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Ian Schrager Is Getting Married

November 7, 2008 at 2:15 PM | by juliana | 3 Comments

Ladies, if you were holding out for a hero who wears tight white t-shirts with dark blazers, has sparkling bright teeth and a gorgeous tan to come and rescue from this crappy economy, we're sad to report that there's one less sugar daddy hotelier for you to go after. Ian Schrager is getting married. Page Six reports:

The hotelier, who created Studio 54 in a previous life, will tie the knot a week from tomorrow with ballerina Tania Wahlstedt. (Schrager's first wife, Rita, was also a ballerina.) "Ian told friends it was love at first sight," said our source. "She has two beautiful daughters. And he has two beautiful daughters. So he's saying he'll have five beauties in his home." The wedding somewhere in Manhattan will be very small and private.

Hmmm...surely Ian can reserve some space at the rooftop at Gramercy Park Hotel?

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The Dish On Our Encounter With Ian Schrager and Jonathan Tisch

September 23, 2008 at 10:06 AM | by Jenna | 5 Comments

Last night, we headed up to the 92nd Street Y in New York City to hear Ian Schrager in conversation with Loew's CEO Jonathan Tisch. The discussion was called "The Future of Lifestyle and Business," and we were totally psyched to geek out and gawk at the J-Man and I-Nasty. And, more importantly, we were ready and waiting to hear about what's up next for the industry from two of the most prominent and influential hoteliers in the biz.

Instead, we mostly listened to Schrager discuss his life, his past and his personal future in business.

Alright, so it was a little bit different than what we'd expected -- but still pretty fascinating. Plus, the Schrage-meister did have a thing or two to say about the hospitality industry and the hotel business in between pieces of his how-I-got-to-where-I-am story. We dish on the talk (and recount a few choice quotes) after the jump.

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Ian Schrager And Jonathan Tisch Are Gonna Dish Tonight

September 22, 2008 at 3:48 PM | by Jenna | 1 Comment

Guess what? We're headed to the Hotel Geek event of the century and we're totally psyched about it: Ian Schrager and Jonathan Tisch are slated to discuss the Future of Lifestyle and Business at the 92nd Street Y in NYC at 8:15 this evening -- and HotelChatter will be on the scene to cover the event for you.

Unfortunately for you, the event is completely sold out -- but that doesn't mean we're not willing to take some reader questions straight to the influential hoteliers for you.

So: got something to ask Ian Schrager or Jonathan Tisch? Drop it in the comments by 7:00 pm EST and we'll pick a few to ask tonight. We'll be back with a full rundown -- and answers to your questions -- tomorrow morning.

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Edition Hotels' Website Launches, Schrager's Ego Gets Bigger

September 16, 2008 at 3:54 PM | by AndrewC | 1 Comment

We at HotelChatter are utter hotel geeks. That's why we often type in domain names for new hotels and hotel brands, cross our fingers and hope that maybe just maybe, a new website will appear.

Today we hit jackpot!

Edition Hotels, the new hotel brand being created by Ian Schrager and Marriott, finally launched a teaser website. While its a little light on the content and pictures - it gives all of the proposed initial Edition Hotels locations.

You ready for this? Take a deep breath...You will need it.

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