Senior Editor:
Juliana Shallcross
Full Masthead
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Last month, we spent a night inside 60 Thompson in Soho, New York--a hotel we had not slept at since 2002, way before the Thompson Hotels began expanding at a rapid rate.
So how does this flagship property hold up compared to the newfangled properties that Thompson has since opened, including the three that opened in NYC in the past year--6 Columbus, Gild Hall and Thompson LES? We have to say, 60 Thompson is still very, very, very good.
This week we received an email from Firmdale Hotels giving us some more info on their Crosby Street Hotel which is now going to open in March of 2009, not at the end of 2008 as we had first thought.
CROSBY STREET HOTEL will be situated in SoHo between Prince, Spring and Lafayette. It is an all-new construction which will be built over eight 10 floors and will have 85 individually designed bedrooms and suites featuring floor-to-ceiling warehouse style windows.
The hotel's interior design will be done by Kit Kemp and the public spaces will include an outdoor garden, a guest drawing room, a gym and a 100-seat "state-of-the-art" screening theater, which is actually a Firmdale trademark feature.
There's not much to report on the individual guest rooms except that they will have flat-screen TVs, wireless internet, and CD/DVD players. Several one and two bedroom suites will be located on the top floors of the hotel.
The Crosby still plans on being green all over and is hoping to achieve the Gold LEED status with its construction. So now we just have to sit and wait.
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by juliana
Thanks to Urban Daddy, we now know how to get to Submercer, the previously hard-to-find (and get into) bar at The Mercer Hotel.
Apparently, the place was closed for over five years (at least to the public) but is once again open for business. UD reports:
To get there, pass the Mercer Hotel (no. 147) and enter a little nook in the wall (no. 147 1/2). You'll know you're there when you see two unassuming henchmen hanging out in front of a doorway--just walk on by and enter the industrial freight elevator.
Two floors underground, cruise down a long dark hallway stocked with bathroom supplies, turn left, pass the boiler room and then turn right through a heavy red door. One more hallway filled with wine and the faint sounds of lounge music will lead you to the promised land.
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More AB News for today
Tucked inside the glut of fashion advertising pages of the newest edition of Vanity Fair (with Harrison Ford and Shia LeBeouf on the cover), is a super pull-out spread of Andre Balazs for Charles Schwab.
We nearly missed this ad for two reasons--1) we always skip that advertising crap at the front of VF and 2) we actually didn't skip the David Beckham ad which was at the front of the mag. We may have lingered on that for a little while. Ahem.
ANYWAYS, Andre Balazs is hawking Charles Schwab's financial consultant services, otherwise known as the annoying Talk to Chuck ad campaign.
He's standing inside the lobby of the Mercer Hotel and a quote box appears next to his head reading:
I want every guest to feel at home in my hotels. And when I'm the guest, I want the same treatment.
On the flip side of the pull-out, the ad says "Whether you own some of the world's most distinctive hotels, or you just want to upgrade your financial situation...."
Thus hotel employees and guests are surrounding Balazs with their own quote boxes depicting their own personal finance goals, like the bellman's sad little quote, "I'd like someone to carry my bags someday."
Additionally, Schwab is trying to position themselves as a sort of financial concierge similar to the concierge services you find in hotels. But will they run out and get you Chinese food at 2 in the morning?
Another pic of the ad after the jump.
The company behind London's new five-star Haymarket Hotel is coming to New York. The Crosby Street Hotel is set to open by the end of 2008 in SoHo on what is now a parking lot between Prince and Spring Streets. The hotel was predicted to open in '07 but not many hotels opened their doors this year. Next year, however, should be different.
Anyways, some good news for tree-hugging Anglophiles--the place is seeking a gold rating under LEED for new construction. The hotel will be eight stories with 75-rooms and will include such green features like:
efficient HVAC systems, locally-sourced building materials, wall-to-ceiling windows, and a roof garden.
Could this be an Orchard Garden Hotel of the East? We hope so but you know, much cooler.
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Every weekend, merchants take to the empty asphalt on the corner of Howard Street and Broadway and Soho to set up tables and cover them with cheap sunglasses, pleather bags, and bedazzled jeans. Soon, they will be pushed back to the already-packed Canal Street a block away. The blog Down By The Hipster says the owner of the lot is building a luxury hotel.
Said owner/developer is in discussions with some heavy hitters about the restaurant and bar space, but no deals are in place. What's more, the adjacent buildings are either vacant or severely underutilized, meaning that we could be looking at much more than just a little boutique number.
According to the city property records we dug up, the mysterious owner uses the ambiguous business name of 433 Broadway Co., LLC, and his/her office is located around the corner at the second floor of the building at 118 Spring St.
We also discovered the market value of the well placed 75-foot by 100-foot empty lot is an estimated $986,000. We'd rather take the cash and buy a small town in the Midwest, but we're looking forward to bringing you all the delays and financial troubles as they come to fruition for 433 Broadway Co. and partners.
[Photo: minusbaby]
Related Stories:
· Soho Hotels [HotelChatter]
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by ced138
We had the opportunity to dine at the Kittichai Restaurant at 60 Thompson the other day and now we know why it's a local fave.
The cuisine served is authentic Thai created by Chef Ian Chalermkittichai (which disproves our theory that the name was based on someone's love for felines and spicy tea.) Since we aren't in the restaurant review biz we'll live the description up to those who are:
"None of this is very Thai," said one of the Thai snobs in a resigned, saddened voice, "although it is Thai-influenced." True Thai or not, a lot of the food at Kittichai tastes awfully good. The gingery galangal-chicken-and-coconut soup could have been more spicy and sour and less sweet (in deference to the local palate, chef Chalermkittichai seems to skew most of his recipes toward sugar, and away from heat), but my bowl of that elusive cold beef salad dish was exceptional.
We ordered the Tuna Salad which was delicious. But make sure you ask for plenty of water and rice, because we thought everything was pretty spicy. Maybe we just weren't man enough to handle it.
The restaurant is open for lunch from 12 to 2:34pm (don't ask, that's what the website says) and for dinner from 5:30 to 11pm. On Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, the restaurants open until midnight. Brunch on Saturday and Sunday is served from 11am to 2:45pm. As for prices, entrées start at $18 and appetizers at $6.
Related Stories:
· NYC: Downtown Hotel Map: 60 Thompson [HotelChatter]
· 60 Thompson reviews [TripAdvisor]
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Click Here to Go Straight to the Downtown NYC Map
Before there was Hotel QT, The Standards and The Raleigh, Andre Balazs opened The Mercer Hotel way back in 1998. It took Balazs eight years to open the darn thing after investment hurdles and trying to accommodate historical landmarks (the building is over 100 years old and was originally an office site for John Jacob Astor II.) But those eight years paid off as the hotel is still a chic boutique hotel to visit today.
Room Rules
Props to the Mercer for including the exact square footage for each type of room on their web site, ranging from the 280-sq-ft Courtyard room to the gigantic, 1,375-sq-ft Penthouse and Courtyard Suites.
Three Day Average
There were no available rooms for our selected weekend but Oct. 22 to 24 showed a Mercer Room (300-sq-ft.) overlooking Mercer Street available for $495 a night. This may seem low for the hotel but remember, it's a weeknight.
Only in NYC Amenity or Service
Complimentary guest passes to the Crunch Gym or World Gym around the corner.
Map-Making Moment
The unforgettable Russelle Crowe Phone-Throwing Temper Tantrum.
Hotel Bar vs. Hotel Restaurant
Without a doubt, Mercer Kitchen.
Subway Stop:
The N,R at Prince St.
Who you are most likely to see in the lobby:
Youngish couples in love and a bit of the Hollywood crowd.
Quickest route uptown
The N,R train will take you into the heart of Times Square.
Related Stories:
· Loft Life at Soho's Mercer [IHT]
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