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Lamb's Club Hotel :: 10 Years in the Making and Still Not Open

Where: West 44th St. [map], New York, NY, United States

Hey, remember the Lamb's Club Hotel? You know, Vikram Chatwal's new Times Square project opening up next month? No? Allow us to refresh your memory:

Back in 1999, the New York Observer reported that Hampshire Hotels (the parent company of VCH) had announced plans to turn the historic Lamb's Club, the legendary Times' Square "theatrical social club" frequented by beloved figures like Fred Astaire and George Gershwin, into a hotel. Locals were sad.

Fast forward to 2006. The NY Post runs a similar story, this time specifically mentioning that "Hampshire Hotels announced plans to gut the building and construct a five-star, 99-room boutique hotel" to open in 2007.

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Tags: Vikram Chatwal / Hot Hotelier News / Hotel Hype / Hotel Openings / Dream Downtown / Lamb's Club / Hotel Restaurants / → All Tags

2008 Will Be the Return of Vikram Chatwal

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]