Is it wrong that we care more about who showed up for Ashton Kutcher's 30th birthday than we do about Ashton Kutcher himself?
The guy hasn't had a decent movie since...well...ever, really and at this point he'll probably be most remembered for marrying much-older Demi Moore. But that totally worked out for him because look who she brought to his 30th birthday party at Gemma inside the Bowery Hotel:
Among the guests: Willis and his model-girlfriend Emma Heming; Salma Hayek and her fiance François-Henri Pinault; famed producer Guy Oseary and Madonna, who brought him a gift and sang him "Happy Birthday!"
The crowd then moved over to the site of the Bowery Hotel's newest sister property The Hotel Riverview where they partied at basement club, Socialista. Spotted there was Kate Hudson, Liv Tyler, Roberto Cavalli, Lucy and Liu.
There was a whole lot of Bowery Hotel news on the Interwebs this week, but we're not sure that any of it really adds up. Let's take a look back and see what we can divine before we head down there this weekend to figure it out for ourselves, shall we?
Remember when we told you about the impending rodeo/cowboy/mechanical bull restaurant coming to midtown New York? Well, it must not be a joke because the Rockefeller Center Hotel has gone and put up signage advertising the place. But don't rush over just yet--Johnny Utah's won't open until at least June 14. That's the scheduled date, but as always, we're skeptical.
And with good reason. We've been waiting ages for sexy Italian restaurant Gemma to open at The Bowery Hotel. Now Down by the Hipster reports that progress is being made, but a tipster to the site admits things still aren't "set up." This is why we never believe it when we hear "We'll be open in, oh, about six weeks."
Last month sis site Jaunted paid a visit to the midtown Dream hotel and the next-door restaurant, Amalia. We decided to check the space out, too, but we didn't go for dinner. We snuck downstairs to the bar/lounge D'Or to really make the scene.
Or so we thought. Turns out, we were the scene--the only folks in the bar. Now, we admit we were there early in the night. But when we chatted with an employee, he told us things only really buzz for a couple hours a night: Between 11 and 1 is your best bet. Then again, maybe you'd like a quieter New York hotel scene than you find downtown.
OMG--the cat's out of the bag! The New York Times has discoveredThe Bowery Hotel. Intrepid reporter Denny Lee checked in to find out what it's like at this completely under-the-radar hotel down on--get this!--New York's old Skid Row. Imagine that!
Ok, ok, after we got past all the faux hype in the review, what did we learn about the property? Not much we didn't already know:
The latest venture from Eric Goode and Sean MacPherson, who created the Maritime Hotel and numerous boîtes, the hotel evokes the Gilded Age of red waistcoats, hand-set bricks and wood-paneled elevators. And the views from the upper floors are positively grand. So what if you might have to step over a few vestigial bums to get there?
Funny, we've been telling you about all this for months. The only bit of news the Times brings to the party is that the restaurant, Gemma, still isn't open. Hmm, just give them six to eight weeks, k?
We're making it a hat trick this morning of New York City hotel stories....
We have a Bowery Hotel double whammy today--a first person review from a recent guest and news of a second Sean MacPherson/Eric Goode hotel, The Lafayette House Hotel.
A HotelChatter tipster sent us this "just the facts" review of the Bowery.
Just stayed at the Bowery. Pretty sweet, although higher wattage bulbs in the halls would improve the ambiance. Our room was terrific, including the best shower and bedding we've ever experienced.
The neighborhood was mediocre for walking at night although not unsafe because NYU was in session and a lot of kids were roaming around. Daytime walking is excellent, with easy walking to Chinatown, Little Italy, SOHO, NOHO Greenwich etc etc, plus the financial district and the World Trade center rebuilding site.
Subway access is three blocks away. The valet shagged cabs for us. Not a lot of local restaurants for dinner, but quite a bit of lunch potential.
Interesting location, nice staff, beautiful rugs in the lobby. Definitely worth a stay.
But what we really want to know is, did you buy the stereo for sale out front?
Meanwhile the Down by the Hipster blog says that the Bowery's newest sibling, the Lafayette House Hotel is live online and now taking reservations, through email. There's a number listed on the web site which we called and were greeted with this message:
For rooms 1-9, please dial 70 and the room number. For rooms 10-15, please dial 7 and the room number.
You could then leave a message for a property manager which got us confused. Is this a residence or a hotel? Our guess is that it's somewhere in transition.
Either way the rooms look similar to the Bowery in that they are carrying over a Victorian sitting-room feel with "hand-picked antiques and furnishings", 500-thread count sheets, iPod docking stations, free WiFi, flat screens and an added bonus of working fireplaces. That's all we know right now so hit us up on the tipline if you know more.
Despite Jason Pomeranc's latest moves, we're still waiting around for something else interesting to happen downtown, something other than Donald Trump's Soho building, which seems to be pissing everyone off.
Even the newest downtown hotel, The Bowery Hotel, is starting to lose its opening luster. There seems to be some hang ups with its restaurant. A recent call reveals that the eatery should be open in "six to eight weeks." Um, wasn't it six to eight weeks, three weeks ago? Uh-oh. Do we see another Alan Yau-Ian Schrager debacle happening? Maybe Curbed had it right when they declared the BoHo "Already Over?"
Last night we went to The Bowery Hotel for the second time this week. We forgot the ol' digital camera the first time, so we went back for some snaps. But front office manager Steve Rachmat politely told us that there are no photos allowed during these early stages. So we're using an exclusive shot that one of our tipsters sent in last week. (Geez, that's the last time we ask before taking the picture!)
But enough about all that. What's the bar like? We got our drinks at the bar itself, a cozy enough nook with lots to choose from. Still, we opted for something simple: a Woodford Reserve Manhattan. It was damn good--as it should've been for $17.
Since there are no bar stools (as of now, anyway), we retired to the lobby with our cocktail. Lots of mix-and-match furniture, Persian rugs and Italian tiling fill the space, which channels a sort of Keith McNally meets Freemans vibe. Which all makes perfect sense: As Down By the Hipster first reported, Freemans is partnering with the hotel for a still-TK Italian restaurant called Gemma. Maybe we'll be able to get a photo of that?
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by juliana
