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We Ate Risotto And Talked Hotels With Curtis Stone

Where: 127 W 28th St [map], New York, NY, United States, 10001

Stone enjoying some Risotto Milanese, catered by Cafe B inside the Hotel Indigo Chelsea

In another life, we might have rolled our eyes at the thought of interviewing some pretty boy celebrity chef who makes a living cooking (and eating) gourmet food on national TV. But in the case of Curtis Stone, who showed up at the Hotel Indigo Chelsea on Friday to promote a local food campaign ("Locals Know Best"), we sat up to listen.

During our chat, the well-traveled chef name-drops a few of his fave NYC spots, professes his love for English Afternoon Tea, and explains why The Standard requires a certain "mood."

How did this partnership with Indigo come about?

I'm a huge advocate of local food, local produce, local chefs, local restaurants, so we decided to do a "Locals Know Best" campaign, which is just an extension of sourcing local ingredients. But it's also trying to bring in a bunch of local knowledge to each of the [Indigo] properties. I think the most important thing when you travel is to get a local flavor when you're there. Otherwise, there's no point in traveling, for both business and pleasure.

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Hotel Interviews / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Openings / Hotel Owners / Indigo Hotels / → All Tags

A Hotelier's Thoughts On 'The Electric Moment'

It's still several years away from completion, but the new 124-room tower going up on Greenwich Street has hopes of becoming one of the hottest nightlife and dining destinations in the downtown area, set to compete directly with the Trump Soho and Tribeca Grand.

But is that such a daunting task? Maybe not for the man who claims to have pushed the Indigo brand "into a higher gear" with the opening of Hotel Indigo Chelsea, which he owns.

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Hotel Design / Indigo Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags

Hotel Indigo Chelsea Scraps The Plastic Bamboo, Overhauls Its Lobby

Where: 127 West 28 Street [map], New York, NY, United States, 10001

Remember these things?

Back in July, these white "plastic bamboo" things outside the Indigo Chelsea scared delighted confused us. What exactly were they? How did they manage to stay up without falling over? Who thought they actually looked good? All of our questions remained unanswered.

What we know for sure: the hotel has gone and removed them—at least the ones on the sidewalk outside. Which is a relief for innocent passers-by, though actual hotel guests will still have to put up with the nonsense. But for how long? We asked the hotel's assistant GM to set the record straight.

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Take a Look At Greenwich Street's Newest Hotel

Back in June, word got around about a 50,000 square foot lot on Greenwich Street, which had been scooped up by Fortuna Realty for a reported $12.7 million. The developer's plan? Naturally, a hotel.

This week, HotelChatter got an exclusive look at a rendering for the 124-room tower, which is slated to include at least one major restaurant concept. Nearby behemoths like Trump Soho and The Greenwich Hotel have basically had a monopoly on this highly lucrative section of the city, but now it's time for new blood. So who's the man behind the money?

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Hotel Renovations / Hotel Design / Indigo Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Rooftop Bars / → All Tags

Attack Of The Killer Plastic Things At The Hotel Indigo Chelsea!

Where: 127 West 28 Street [map], New York, NY, United States, 10001

While enjoying a stroll through Chelsea yesterday, we decided to stop by the newly-renovated public spaces inside Hotel Indigo Chelsea, which include a street-level Italian restaurant and rooftop bar. But lo and behold, what did we find? A bunch of weird, white tubes sprouting up everywhere! Installed throughout the front courtyard and lobby, the collective tube total could easily have numbered in the thousands (and we weren't about to take the time to count).

We're reminded of the "giant white tentacles" included in the design of HGI Times Square's rooftop bar, XVI. We weren't crazy about the idea of tentacles back then, and we sure aren't now either. But Bill Mehalco, an Assistant General Manager for the hotel, assured us that that these Italian-imported plastic bamboo shoots will eventually be reinforced by the addition of tiny LED lights—though he couldn't say exactly when. More rooftop renovation photos after the jump!

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Tennessee Hotels / Indigo Hotels / aloft Hotels / element hotels / → All Tags

Getting aloft and Indigo in Your Element in Nashville

In the surest sign yet it's catching on that there may be more to Nashville than twang, three "corporate boutique" hotel brands are coming to town.

Construction crews have been at work for a while on West End Avenue in Nashville, where InterContinental's Hotel Indigo brand is scheduled to open up this summer. Yesterday it was announced that two Starwood attempts to be hip will join it. Aloft and Element will both arrive downtown as part of a new Nashville Sounds minor league ballpark.

We're not sure how excited to get about all these new brands since only a few Hotel Indigos have popped up and not one Aloft or Element is more than a bunch of SecondLife pixels. Of course that's kind of fitting in this case since it will be years before these announcements turn into real buildings. An InterContinental that was announced for Nashville several years back has only made it as far as a leveled lot and a big sign. A Westin that was to be built downtown may never happen because it will require ripping down historic buildings and changing the height allowances along Broadway.

We keep reading how there's a net migration of people and businesses from the largest U.S. cities to mid-sized ones with lower costs, so perhaps the corporate boutique hotels want to be there to take advantage of the trend: most of the Aloft announcements in particular have been for up-and-coming secondary markets like this.