HotelChatter

Tags: Mondrian Hotels / Morgans Hotels / Morgans Hotel Group / Hotel Designers / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags

Will the Mondrian SoHo Make Guests Check Their Clothes At The Door?

Where: 9 Crosby St [map], New York, NY , United States, 10013-3102

Hungry for details on all of the new hotels coming to Manhattan in the coming months, but operating on little intel, we are sometimes left to our imaginations. Like our musing about what the Mondrian SoHo will look like. So far, we’ve just seen this rendering, which doesn’t go far in helping us visualize what the hotel will look like in real-life.

more ›

Tags: Hotel Deals / New York Hotels / Morgans Hotels / → All Tags

Reliving the '90s Just Got More Affordable at the Royalton

Where: 44 W 44th St [map], New York, NY, United States, 10036

It’s almost time to give summer the big kiss-off. Wanna party like it’s 1995? Well, you’re in luck: The Morgan Group’s Royalton Hotel in New York is running an “End of Summer” promotion for New York residents, starting at just $199 a night.

Sure, the hotel’s 2007 makeover was met with lackluster reviews from the New York Times not to mention original Morgans gurus Ian Schrager and Phillipe Starck, but is it really the Royalton’s fault that it launched an endless parade of copycat boutique hotels all jostling to be the spot du jour for Manhattan’s it boys and girls?

more ›

Tags: Hotel Restaurants / Hotel Hype / Mondrian Hotels / Morgans Hotels / Morgans Hotel Group / → All Tags

Mondrian SoHo Renderings Strike Terror In the Hearts of Foodies

Earlier this week, the renderings for Mondrian SoHo's new restaurant — which is being headed up by former Top Chef hottie Sam Talbot — surfaced on Eater. And people hate them. The blog Dreamtard actually posted the renderings first, claiming that the "light fixtures on the walls are actually motorized arms that light up and move as somebody walks by them." Uh, ew.

Choice Eater comments: "This design asks a simple question: What if Tron were haunted?" and "oy, serious uglies." We'll hold back on the commentary, especially given the rendering-to-reality discrepancies that we hope (pray) will come into play to tone some of this down in real life.

The hotel itself, by the way, is a-rising: Curbed took some shots of the facade of the 25-story tower, and the rumored opening date of "later this year" is contradicted by the (typically more realistic) HVS Manhattan Market Overview — which is predicting an "early 2010" opening date for the 274-room Morgans property.

Tags: Hotel Hype / Hotel Openings / Boston Hotels / Morgans Hotels / → All Tags

Ben Franklin + Supermodel = Ames Boston, Opening This Fall

Where: 1 Court Street [map], Boston, MA, United States, 02108

So if Ben Franklin had a child with a supermodel and then that child grew up to be a sorta-effeminate, chic-looking playboy with a Boston accent, we imagine it would turn out to be the human version of what Morgans Hotel Group's latest addition, Ames Boston, is hoping to be.

The hotel, opening in October or November of this year, will be located at 1 Court Street in a "Romanesque-Byzantine inspired structure" that was once the corporate headquarters for the Ames families' agricultural tool company, which the hotel's design team is incorporating into the theme and decor.

The lobby will have a mosaic, barrel-vaulted ceiling, a marble and brass staircase, and something called the “Mirror Chandelier” or “Mirror Cloud” installation — there will also be a two-story restaurant called Woodward.

The Ames will have 113 rooms that "are simple, serene, and quiet." Think light oak flooring (so no coffin-esque darkness), 10-foot high ceilings, and a bed upholstered with white cream-colored leather.

We'll keep our eyes peeling for opening date and rates — and as for that Ben Franklin/supermodel thing...we'll let you know how that turns out; but first we'll let you know that the partnership is actually how the Morgans people are marketing this thing. We didn't come up with that on our own.

Tags: Industry News / Hard Rock Hotels / Viva Las Vegas / Morgans Hotels / Hotel Renovations / → All Tags

Morgans Wants Out of the Hard Rock Las Vegas

Where: 4455 Paradise Rd [map], Las Vegas, NV, United States, 33139

More bummer-ish hotel industry news for you today: because of the economy, Morgans Hotel Group "plans to reduce its ownership stake" in the Hard Rock Las Vegas in response to major first-quarter losses and tanking revenues.

The hotel group, which currently co-owns and manages the Hard Rock LV, is trying to "reduce exposure in Las Vegas." Er, we assume that means "stop the bleeding." Per the Las Vegas Sun:

The company said it expects to cut its ownership in the Hard Rock to 14 percent by the end of 2009. It had about a 20 percent stake at the beginning of this year. [...]

Morgans' Hard Rock brand was hit hard like the rest of the company's properties. Hotel room occupancy for the Hard Rock fell from 94 percent in the 2008 quarter to 89.3 percent in the 2009 period, while revenue per available room slid from $173.34 to $120.55.

This announcement comes right smack in the middle of the property's major revamp; Joint, the concert venue, just re-opened after a total overhaul, and the hotel's north tower is still, apparently, on schedule to open this summer while the casino renovation and south tower will supposedly open in late 2009 or early next year.

Tags: Hot Hotelier News / Rick Caruso / Morgans Hotels / Ed Scheetz / → All Tags

News Briefs: Mo' Hotels, Mo' Problems for These Hoteliers

While things seem to be looking up for hotelier Jason Pomeranc, whose Six Columbus hotel finally opened today, other hoteliers may not be faring so well.

· Developer king Rick Caruso had bought the abandoned Miramar project near Santa Barbara earlier this year after the property spent years languishing under others owners--Ian Schrager, then Ty "Beanie Baby" Warner. But Caurso's hit a few road bumps as well. Apparently, he wanted to create new roads leading to the property but was promptly shut down by the neighbors. It doesn't look like Miramar will ever open.

· Meanwhile former Morgans Hotel Group CEO Ed Scheetz, who stepped down a few weeks ago for personal reasons, has a lot more on his mind than we thought. Turn out his girlfriend died from a drug overdose in Las Vegas on August 29th. The overdose of 24-year-old Michelle Lynn Hatchel has been ruled as accidental and Scheetz is not being investigated.

Related Stories:
· MORGANS HOTEL GROUP: Overdose deemed accidental [LVRJ]
· What kind of circus is this? [SB Independent]
· Oh, What a Tangled Web Hoteliers, Developers and Beanie Babies Weave [HotelChatter]
· Morgans Hotel Group CEO Resigns [HotelChatter]