Tag: Robert DeNiro
View All TagsViva Vegas / Hotel Construction / Nobu Hotels / Robert DeNiro / Nobu Matsuhisa / → All Tags
The Nobu Hotel in Las Vegas is Coming Along, But Will It Be Ready for Fall?
The other day we skulked around Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, checking out the casino scene, the pool scene, a new room in the Augustus Tower, the restaurant options and even the Pussycat Dolls blackjack tables (yes, they exist near the sportsbook) before we stumbled on the entrance to the Nobu Hotel.
Of course, the hotel isn't open yet but construction is happening inside Caesars' old Centurion Tower. Even Robert De Niro and Chef Nobu Matsuhisa were on the property the other month to check on the hotel's progress and sign the Nobu construction wall.
Tribeca Hotels / Robert DeNiro / Hotel Construction / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags
The Penthouse at the Greenwich Hotel to Get Downsized (And Then Will It Finally Open?)
While the regular rooms are spacious enough at Robert DeNiro's Greenwich Hotel in Tribeca, if you'd rather stay in the penthouse suite, you're gonna have to wait a little bit longer.
New York City's Landmarks Preservation Commission has ordered the hotel to make their penthouse roof smaller. Apparently, the initial building plans for the hotel were approved without the inclusion of a penthouse. The penthouse was built anyways, much to the landmarks commission's dismay. The hotel's architect then had to come up with a new plan for the roof which was approved today.
Curbed has the architectural detes on the new designs:
Hotel News / Manhattan Hotels / Robert DeNiro / Student Hotels / → All Tags
Are NYU Students Moving Into DeNiro's House?
In case you didn't already think that New York University students were the luckiest kids around, with their campus and dorms located in and around Greenwich Village, now comes news that some NYU kids may move into the Greenwich Hotel. After all, can you think of a better resident assistant than Bobby DeNiro?
Overcrowding in the regular NYU dorms is the cause of the potential move to the hotel, with as many as 250 students who were guaranteed housing for the upcoming fall semester still without a room assignment.
Manhattan Hotels / Robert DeNiro / Tribeca Hotels / Luxury Hotels / → All Tags
Inside The Greenwich Hotel in TriBeCa
It only took about a year and a half but HotelChatter has finally seen the inside of the Greenwich Hotel in TriBeCa. Yes, the very same Greenwich Hotel that infamously blacklisted us on its opening day in March 2008.
We knew before we booked our room on that black day that the hotel had a media exclusive. We promised not to run our photos until the exclusive was published but the hotel didn't want to take any chances. And today, a year after officially opening, they still aren't taking any chances.
During our tour, we were not allowed to photograph any of the public spaces in order to respect the privacy of the guests who may be passing through. So we kept our shots to the standard guest room that we saw and all its amenities. We were, however, allowed to snap the quiet sanctum that is the indoor pool.
Keep reading for our thoughts and photos of The Greenwich Hotel!
Hotel Restaurants / Robert DeNiro / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags
The Greenwich Hotel's New Restaurant, Locanda Verde, Will Open Next Week
The NY Times has the breaking news that the restaurant formerly occupied by Ago inside the Greenwich Hotel will now be called Locanda Verde:
Andrew Carmellini is executive chef and co-owner; Karen Demasco is pastry chef. The interior is getting a speedy makeover by Ken Friedman and Meyer Davis, the firm that designed Boqueria and Mas Farmhouse. In an interview in February, Mr. Carmellini set out his goals for the restaurant. ”I want this to be a neighborhood restaurant,” he said. ”I want it to be laid back and casual. I want to have a good time.”
And good food right? The restaurant will open next Tuesday. Hopefully, the Greenwich hotel's website will have removed all their copy about Ago by then.
Hotel Hype / Hotel News / Robert DeNiro / Nobu Hotel / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags
Plans for Nobu Hotels Are Being Defrosted, Reheated
Is the world still game for a Nobu Hotel from Robert DeNiro and star chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa? Ever since plans for the first Nobu Hotel in New York's Financial District were announced last May, we've kept our ears wide open for any other tidbits on the topic only to see it disappear quietly into the history of funky hotel rumors.
Now nearly a year later, The Telegraph UK has resurrected the concept of a Nobu Hotel by explaining the delay (issues with a 50 percent sale of the company) and assuring the world that "plans are currently being drawn up." We're assuming then that their plans to commandeer the building at 50 Broad Street are off, since still being "in the planning stages" can't possibly mean there will be any actual Nobu-branded places to lay our heads until at least 2013.
Until then, however, you can still catch some raw fish in one of Nobu's 20 worldwide restaurants, with newest additions in Dubai (in Atlantis Palm Jumeirah) and Cape Town (in the One & Only Resort).
Tribeca Film Festival Hotels / Film Festival Hotels / Robert DeNiro / Tribeca Hotels / → All Tags
The Greenwich Hotel Not Super Expensive for Tribeca Film Festival
Considering that Greenwich Hotel owner Bobby DeNiro is also the man behind the Tribeca Film Festival, we expected his hotel to be either sold-out or ridonkulously expensive, like the Kentucky Derby hotels.
To our genuine surprise, we found rooms on April 22nd, the start of the film festival for a mere $475 a night via the hotel's website. That was for a 325-sq.ft. courtyard room, one of the starting room categories. The Greenwich Room (395-sq.ft.) was going for $525. Sure, these aren't recession-friendly prices but they aren't as jacked up as they could be.
Looking for an even cheaper stay at the start of the festival? Over on Quikbook.com, Smyth was just a mere $177 a night from April 22-25. The festival runs through May 3 so you have plenty of dates to consider. Of course, that all depends on which film you want to see.
Hotel News Briefs / Bowery Hotel / Hotel Indigo / Palazzo Versace / Robert DeNiro / → All Tags
De Niro's Greenwich Hotel Feeling the Economic Burn
There's tons of hotel news flying around this week and we don't have time to give each and every story the love and attention it may deserve, so you will have to settle for some news briefs.
· The Top 21 Examples of Stylish Hotel Design: Men.Style.com is just as fond of lists as we are, and their latest is pretty slick; they've compiled their favorite design touches in hotels, which oddly includes "the silence in the lobby at The Bowery Hotel." [Men.Style]
· De Niro's Greenwich Hotel Half-Empty?: A Curbed operative overheard at a community board meeting that The Greenwich Hotel is struggling with a 50% occupancy rate. Trouble in taxi driver paradise! [Curbed]
· A Fourth in Florida for Hotel Indigo: It's not just London they're conquering, but also Florida as the "unpretentious" Hotel Indigo is scheduled to open this year in Miami Lakes, Miami Beach, St. Petersburg, and Ft. Myers. [HNR]
· Dubai's Palazzo Versace Hires a Decorator: You'd think that a design company would be able to outfit their own hotel, but no, as they've hired interior decorators. [Arabian Biz]
Robert DeNiro / Manhattan Hotels / Luxury Hotels / → All Tags
More Media Let Behind the Greenwich Hotel Curtain
Oh, would you look at that: The Greenwich Hotel let a news outlet though its doors that wasn't Vanity Fair! Newsweek this time got to go behind the curtain.
Since we've never seen the place, we can't say whether we agree that the hotel offers a "mix of Mediterranean touches with Asian inspiration" in its public spaces, or that rooms' "French doors, Oriental rugs and fragrant reclaimed wood floors lend a homey feel, while the elaborately tiled bathrooms add an exotic Moroccan aesthetic."
However, the lone review over at TripAdvisor backs up those points, singling out the "beautifully appointed" room and "stunning and luxurious" bathroom as highlights of the visit.
The only place the reviews differ is with the restaurant Ago, which Newsweek says offers an "innovative take on Italian country cuisine," but came across as "barely adequate" to the guest, a stance previously proclaimed by The New York Times food critic Frank Bruni.
That's gotta hurt DeNiro--an Italian restaurant in his hotel in Tribeca is "barely adequate." This might be the only instance where we would ever suggest focusing on the restaurant a little more than the rooms.
Hotel News Briefs / Robert DeNiro / Hotel Openings / Hotel Animals / Miami Hotel Mambo / → All Tags
Hotel News Briefs :: More Animals Seeking Respite in Hotels
There's tons of hotel news flying around this week and we don't have time to give each and every story the love and attention it may deserve, so you will have to settle for some news briefs.
· New Boutique Hotel for Philly: The City of Brotherly Love continues its hotel boom with the opening of the Independent Hotel on June 20th. Interestingly, the hotel only has 24 rooms, making it like a mini-boutique hotel.
· DeNiro's "Labor of Love": Robert DeNiro is defending the illegal penthouse at his Greenwich Hotel today in front of the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission. The commission may order him to tear it down and start over.
· Sushi by the Sea: The Delano Hotel in Miami Beach has just announced its "Sushi by the Sea" dinners. Sushi is served by the pool Thursday through Saturday from 8pm to 1am.
· The Summer of Hotel Animals: It's officially the Summer of Hotel Animals. This time a raccoon is hanging out in the garage of the Park Inn in Berlin. The staff has nicknamed him Alex. Alex doesn't like the hotel food. He likes the trash bins outside the Burger King next door. Hah!
Hotel Restaurnts / Robert DeNiro / Frank Bruni / Tribeca Hotels / → All Tags
Ago at DeNiro's Greenwich Hotel Gets Zero Stars from Frank Bruni
We actually feel sort of bad for Robert DeNiro today. The Ago restaurant inside his Greenwich Hotel (from chef Agostino Sciandri) suffered a humiliating beating from NY Times food critic Frank Bruni--receiving zero stars and a "Poor" rating.
This restaurant isn't in the hospitality business. It's in the attitude business, projecting an aloofness that permeated all of my meals there, nights of wine and poses for swingers on the make, cougars on the prowl and anyone else who values a sort of facile fabulousness over competent service or a breaded veal Milanese with any discernible meat.
Yikes. But despite a terrible review from Bruni, clueless Manhattanites and celeb wannabes must still be hitting up this "hotspot." Bruni recommends making reservations three weeks in advance for prime time seatings.
Robert DeNiro / Greenwich Hotel / Tribeca Hotels / → All Tags
The Greenwich Hotel Has an Illegal Penthouse
The NY Daily News is reporting that the still-under-construction penthouse of Robert DeNiro's Greenwich Hotel is of an illegal size and could possibly be torn down.
"We approved the addition of a seventh story in November 2004," says Landmarks spokeswoman Elisabeth de Bourbon. "Yet the structure that was built is steeper and its footprint bigger, making it significantly more visible [from the street] than originally allowed." De Niro has asked the commission - which is tasked with making sure new buildings blend into the neighborhood - to retroactively "legalize" what he's already built.
We're pretty sure that's what will happen when it goes to the NYC Landmarks Commission on June 17. Afterall, this is DeNiro in New York. He's helped make Tribeca what it is today.
Meanwhile Bloomberg News has a nauseating review of the place. However, it was nice to hear that the Greenwich "pretension of the [Gramercy Park Hotel] and the unsteady service" of the newly restored Plaza hotel. Too bad they were a little too elitist to let us have a look.
