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The Saddest Cupcakes That Ever Graced A Hotel Bar

Where: 201 PARK AVENUE SOUTH [map], New York, NY, United States, 10003

We showed up to a pre-Fashion Week party last night at W Union Square and, as usual with these types of events, made a beeline for the bar. Planning on ordering a quick cocktail, we then noticed something that made us chuckle. At one end of the bar on a silver tray were rows of mini cupcakes—thick with icing, delicious looking, and virtually untouched.

But what else did we expect? This is Fashion Week, after all, where anything more than a stick of celery is considered an indulgence.

Not that these sugar bombs put a damper on anyone's fun. Indeed, with guest appearances by DJ Chelsea Leyland, W Global Fashion Director Jenné Lombardo, and man-about-town Waris Ahluwalia, the music was loud and the paparazzi bulbs were a-flashin'. Boy, were we glad for that drink.

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Standard Hotels / Andre Balazs / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Rebrandings / → All Tags

Andre Balazs Plans to Make Good with the Neighbors Around The Standard, East Village

Where: 27 Cooper Sq [map], New York, NY, United States, 10003

Sorry, Andre is not quite sure what he wants to do with this space here.

While the Cooper Square Hotel is officially now the Standard Comma East Village, not much has changed. And it might be a while before things do as hotelier Andre Balazs told the Wall Street Journal that he was still figuring things out.

However, Andre does plan on making the hotel "cost-conscious" with rooms starting at about $190. Given that these rooms are incredibly small, we think that's a fair rate. He also new ideas for the hotel's public spaces--meaning the lobby and the restaurant and possibly that rooftop performance space we heart so much. But alas, no real plans for these areas seem to be shaping up.

However, Andre did get in a little dig to the guys who built Cooper Square--Greg Peck and Matt Moss. The two notoriously had a falling out during the construction of the hotel and needless to say, that probably affected the hotel's future. But another big problem for the hotel was how badly they pissed off the community before the hotel even opened. And here's where Andre puts in his two cents:

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Hoteliers / Eric Goode / Manhattan Hotels / Animal Hotels / Celebrity Scoop / → All Tags

Eric Goode Doesn't Just Specialize in Hotels For Humans

Where: Bowery At E 3rd St [map], New York, NY, United States, 10003

Hoteliers tend to be people with many interests—real estate, seaplanes, blondes. And, apparently, turtles. According to an article in the current New Yorker, hotelier Eric Goode is a major herpetophile—or, in English, a reptile geek—and has been collecting turtles since he was a little boy.

When he's not dashing between his Manhattan properties (The Bowery, The Jane, The Maritime), he likes to hang out at a five-acre turtle preserve he owns in Ojai, California. There, he recreates the turtles' natural habitat, quarantines newcomers, and even has workers whip up a special "chelonean carnivore gelatine" for them to eat. Yuk!

Though the New Yorker claims that Goode is alternating between two parallel lives, to us, it just seems like different sides of the same coin. If you can make a living pampering humans, why not turtles?

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Hotel Bars / Hotel Design / W Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Flowers / → All Tags

The Coolest Part Of W Union Square's New Bar Is On The Ceiling

Where: 201 PARK AVENUE SOUTH [map], New York, NY, United States, 10003

Last June, W Union Square closed its underground bar (suitably named Underbar) in order to re-launch an entirely new concept in the same space. Six months later, W unveiled Lilium, a black-and-gold accented nightclub with a moderate-size dance floor and video art that loops on a flat-screen behind the bar.

But beyond the giant bubble chandelier in the foyer, and the Todd English-prepared small plates offered, by far the most interesting touch here are the hand-sculpted steel lilies that adorn the ceiling like some sort of gilded cave of forgotten dreams. Artist Scot Brown used over 4,000 lbs of steel to create the effect, and along the walls, he etched the contours of yet more lilies, which are then illuminated against the dark steel by fluorescent lights. Scroll down to see the lilies in their everlasting bloom!

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Hyatt Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Restaurants / Hotel Hype / → All Tags

The Hyatt Union Square Will Have Some Good Eats, Whenever It Opens

Where: 132-138 Fourth Avenue [map], New York, NY, United States, 10003

The Hyatt Union Square rising, July 2011.

It's been a while since we checked in on the Hyatt Union Square but today we've got some interesting news about what's going inside. The hotel, which to the best of our knowledge is still lacking an opening date, will have some experienced pros running their food and beverage scene.

@NYNightlife tipped us off to say that the folks behind the sushi spot, 15 East, and midtown French-American bistro, Tocqueville, will be doing the restaurant, lobby bar and rooftop space at the hotel. The folks will go in front of the Community Board next week for the all-important liquor license approval.

We checked with Hyatt and they have no new updates about the opening date or the food and beverage at this time. But perhaps after the Community Board meeting will know a lot more.

Got any scoop on the Hyatt Union Square NYC? Let us know!

Hotel Rebrandings / Manhattan Hotels / Standard Hotels / Andre Balazs / → All Tags

The Cooper Square Hotel is Now Officially The Standard East Village

Where: 25 Cooper Square [map], New York, NY, United States, 10003

Just the other night we were perusing hotels in New York City on a couple of booking sites and lo and behold, look at what we saw--the Cooper Square Hotel is now officially rebranded as Andre Balazs Standard East Village.

We first got word of the hotel's Standardization back in October but now it looks like the transformation is complete, at least online. Not only do booking sites like Expedia and Kiwi Collection (pictured below) show the CSH as the Standard East Village, but when you visit Cooper Square's website, it redirects you to the Standard site.

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Celebrity Scoop / Kristen Wiig / W Hotels / Hotel Sex / Hotel Bars / Manhattan Hotels / Celebrity Hotels / Hotel Rock Stars / → All Tags

Kristen Wiig Got Lucky In A Booth At The W

Where: 201 Park Avenue South [map], New York, NY, United States, 10003

With all this talk of the holidays, it's easy to forget hotels are good for something other than just pretty lights, cakes and Christmas trees: random hook-ups! And no one, not even a fully-fledged movie star like Kristen Wiig, is above a passionate night of making out in a hotel bar.

Photographers caught Wiig at the W Union Square earlier this week, during an album release party for the Black Keys, casually making out with Fabrizio Moretti, The Strokes' drummer. OK, well, maybe not that casually. According to sources at the event, the two were "literally on top of each other" in a booth in the hotel's new basement club, Lilium (more on that later).

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Standard Hotels / Andre Balazs / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Rebrandings / Hotel News / Chelsea Handler / → All Tags

Andre Balazs Gets Closer to Turning Cooper Square into The Standard East Village

Where: 27 Cooper Sq [map], New York, NY, United States, 10003

Confirming what we reported last month, sources tell Page Six that Andre Balazs will be turning the Cooper Square Hotel into another one of his Standard Hotels.

The paper reports that the deal will be finalized today and that Andre will rename the property The Standard East Village (but we're sure everyone will just call it Standard East.)

the 105-room hotel’s public spaces will be reconfigured, its rooms refurbished and its restaurants overhauled over the course of the next year.

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Hotel News / Andre Balazs / Klaus Ortlieb / Standard Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Hype / → All Tags

If The Cooper Square Hotel Turned Into A Standard, What Would It Look Like?

Where: 25 Cooper Square [map], New York, NY, United States, 10003

We've heard rumblings that Cooper Square Hotel will probably turn into a Standard Hotel now that hottie hotelier Andre Balazs owns the place. AB's involvement with the hotel was already public knowledge when his signature was discovered on some liquor license documents back in September.

Now, after the initial shock waves have settled, we're starting to wonder: what exactly is in store for this bizarre, overlooked hotel located in Manhattan's thriving East Village? Though only two miles from the Standard, the crowds here differ greatly from those of the Meatpacking District. But will the hotel, under the new Balazs regime, adapt?

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Hotel News / Andre Balazs / Manhattan Hotels / Hote Liquor Licenses / Hotel Ownership / → All Tags

Andre Balazs Now Owns Three Hotels In NYC (That We Know Of)

Where: 25 Cooper Square [map], New York, NY, United States, 10003

Well, we can't say we're surprised. Exactly a month after first speculating on Andre Balazs' possible takeover (thanks to a well-informed tipster) of the Cooper Square Hotel, we now have proof—in the form of a liquor license. What is it with liquor licenses today?

An East Village blogger by the name of EV Grieve published the above scan, which surfaced at a community board meeting last Monday. Can we all breathe a collective sigh of relief? There's one piece of the hotel puzzle solved.

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HotelChatter Questions / Manhattan Hotels / College Hotels / Soho Hotels / Hampton Inn / → All Tags

What's A Cheap Hotel Near NYU?

HotelChatter Questions: In which, the intrepid HotelChatter editors and our hotel maven readers answer hotel questions that pop into our inbox. Have a question for us? Send it along. Think you have a better answer than we gave, or better yet, want to give a vote of confidence to our answer? Comment away below.

Here's one question from a reader whose daughter begins at NYU this fall:

"Since you have the inside NY Hotel scoop, do you know where to find any of the good promotional codes for the hotels you suggested?  Also is it better to book on-line or call and negotiate since I will be [in NYC] 7 nights. Lastly, if I wanted to stay right by NYU - Washington Sq, where would you recommend?

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Hotel Construction / Hyatt Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Hype / → All Tags

The Hyatt Union Square is Rising But It Needs a Coat or Two of Glamour

Where: 132-138 Fourth Avenue [map], New York, NY, United States, 10003

While Hyatt 48Lex is experiencing some delays, work is progressing nicely downtown at the forthcoming Hyatt Union Square which is set to open later this year. (Of course, we think 2012 might be more likely.)

Anyhoo, a tipster sent us this snapshot of the hotel's exterior which is looking true to the renderings although without the hydroponic bamboo garden that Curbed reported the hotel will feature above its limestone base when completed.

Yet is it kind of boring? Way back when commenter Andrew Calvo said it looked like the new prototype for Summerfield Suites, Hyatt's budgety extended-stay brand And the tipster who sent in this photo was harsher saying, "it's really ugly."

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