Sofitel Berlin Gendarmenmarkt,
a hip, high-end boutique hotel,
mixes Teutonic minimalism
with bracing blasts of color.
Like every generation before
them, today’s twenty- and thirty-somethings are creating
their own standards of what’s cool, setting new trends in food,
fashion and music that will sustain them on their journey to
becoming the next Old Guard. And just as today’s Generation Y goes
its own way when it comes to luxury goods -- think Prada
sunglasses, Eames chairs and Thom Browne suits -- so, too, do Gen
Y-ers seek their own brand of luxe accommodations, which has little
to do with a formal ambience of exquisite antiques and period
reproductions.
In fact, according to Tracie Domino, a
26-year-old sales executive for Tiffany & Co. business sales
who also serves as the vice president of communications for
Florida’s Tampa Bay Area Chapter of Meeting Professionals
International, “You kind of feel like you don’t belong in those
more traditional luxury hotels; you don’t feel like you can wear
jeans in the lobby.” Domino, speaking for her age group as a whole,
goes on to assert that “we prefer boutique hotels.”
The boutique concept -- which over the
years has edged increasingly toward luxury territory -- was
pioneered by former nightclub entrepreneur Ian Schrager in the
mid-1980s. From the first property Schrager opened, Morgans, to his
most recent, the “post-hip” Gramercy Park Hotel, both of which are
in New York City, the man has loomed large over the cool side of
the luxe hotel market, as has his frequent collaborator, the
world-renowned designer Philippe Starck. In fact, these two men
have had a hand, whether directly or by influence, in the vision
and design of the following five jeans-friendly luxury hotels, in
five of the world’s coolest cities.
The definite article:
THEhotel’s The Lounge
THEhotel
Las Vegas
(877) 632-7800; mandalaybay.com
Late 20th-century Las Vegas went into a
decline as it struggled to shed its mobbed-up image and reinvent
itself as a family-friendly entertainment destination. This trend
was reversed in the early 2000s, as the gaming mecca took on an
edgier mantle by making visitors complicit in its promised
hedonism: “What happens here, stays here.”
THEhotel at Mandalay Bay, an MGM Mirage
property, is a great symbol of this new, cool Vegas: It’s more The
Killers, a popular rock band, than Ol’ Blue Eyes; more Cirque du
Soleil than Wayne Newton.
THEhotel opened in December 2003,
featuring 1,117 suites -- boutique by Vegas standards -- each
spanning at least 750 square feet. With its gold-sheened skin, the
43-story tower resembles its sister property, Mandalay Bay, to
which it is connected. Inside, though, THEhotel couldn’t be more
different: Here the ambience is expressed in clean, dark lines;
subdued, nightclubby lighting; and bright contemporary art. One
highlight is the lobby chandelier, a glass sculpture that brings to
mind a mass of illuminated sea anemones.
Scott Voeller, vice president of
marketing and advertising for Mandalay Bay, recalls that when the
design teams sat down to brainstorm what THEhotel would be, “some
people began to see the value of properties that were doing well in
that hip, cool space; they saw the Ian Schragers of the world
having success in that space.”
And THEhotel has been successful -- not
just with the “Hollywood types” Voeller cites as being particularly
enamored with the property, but also with conventioneers. Mandalay
Bay features a 1.5 million-square-foot convention center, the
Strip’s largest, while THEhotel has a unique arrangement on floors
3, 4, 5 and 6, with a mix of suites and meeting space (5,000 square
feet on each floor), thus allowing gatherings to have their
sleeping rooms, hospitality suites and meeting rooms all in one
place.
In a New York state of mind:
Park Hyatt Tokyo’s New York Grill
Park Hyatt Tokyo
(011) 81-3-5322-1234
tokyo.park.hyatt.com
When director Sofia Coppola set her
2003 film Lost in Translation in Tokyo, it portrayed a
bewildering yet romantic and ultramodern metropolis. It’s fitting,
then, that Coppola’s movie was shot in large part at one of the
city’s hippest luxe hotels: the sleek Park Hyatt Tokyo, in the
business and entertainment district of Shinjuku.
The hotel, which has 177 rooms
(standard size: 590 square feet), enjoys a privileged perch on the
top 14 floors of the 52-story Shinjuku Park Tower, designed by
famed Japanese architect Dr. Kenzo Tange. Inside, the Hong
Kong-based American designer John Morford has engineered a finely
calibrated atmosphere set off by warm woodwork and greens, browns
and grays. One of the best details is how, as the elevator ascends
from ground level to floor 42, the lights within the car gradually
brighten until the doors glide open onto the lobby.
All this serves to create, according to
hotel general manager Robert Barker, “a sense of place for
discerning travelers, at a time when most people feel a bit
dislocated from traveling.” The guest rooms themselves reinforce
this theme, as will be familiar to anyone who saw Lost in
Translation and marveled at the contrast between the frenetic,
neon-lit Tokyo street life and the sophisticated, whisper-quiet
rooms.
The guest rooms are defined by
high-tech gadgets like remote-control curtains, luxurious white
sheets and duvets, marble baths with plasma-screen TVs, and a
generous selection of books. This last feature echoes the hotel’s
2,000-volume library, as well as the rare bookplates from around
the world that are displayed in a dining alcove of its French
brasserie Girandole.
With regard to meeting space, GM Barker
says the Park Hyatt’s three function rooms -- the Ballroom (4,360
square feet), Venetian (1,830 square feet) and Drawing Room (1,400
square feet) -- “can cater to everything from a small cocktail
party...to a dramatic dinner gala in the high-ceilinged ballroom
with remarkable views.” The Ballroom can accommodate up to 220
people for a seated banquet dinner or up to 300 for a
reception.
Sofitel Berlin
Gendarmenmarkt
(011) 49-30-203-750; sofitel.com
It’s hard to imagine that Berlin, a
city once defined by a wall, is now more defined by its Love
Parade, a wild festival that is like a cross between Burning Man in
the Nevada desert and Carnival in the Caribbean. In the same
spirit, Berlin is now home to a number of high-design, cutting-edge
hotels, including the Sofitel Berlin Gendarmenmarkt.
Opened in 1999, the 70-room, 22-suite
luxury boutique property, which began flying the Sofitel flag just
last year, is near major landmarks like the Brandenburg Gate and
the Reichstag. The hotel entrance echoes this historical setting,
with its stylized art deco moldings; vaulted, softly illuminated
archways; and chunky rivets on the modern, gate-like frame around
the door.
Inside, designers Harald Klein and Bert
Haller have created something like an inversion of, or perhaps a
uniquely German take on, the minimalism of Philippe Starck. Here
shadow and light contend with one another, in the form of black
glass and marble: The decor is moody, weighted with history, dark
yet lively, and perfect for the brooding city.
The guest rooms are softer and more
forgiving. Clean lines predominate, as do blacks and whites, yet
the headboard is a billowy white curtain lit from behind in
multicolored hues. Countess Tini Rothkirch, general manager, says
her hotel’s philosophy is “design for the senses; it’s a detail
hotel. If you go through with open eyes, you will see a lot of
details and a lot of lights, such as changing lights in the floors
and in the rooms.”
When it’s time to get down to business,
the intimate Sofitel Berlin does not have an abundance of meeting
space. What it does have, though, is enchanting. The hotel has two
small conference rooms, each large enough for 120 people. The
design of the rooms fits with the rest of the hotel, as these are
tiled with illuminated light panels, like a futuristic Saturday
Night Fever dance floor.
Fit for a bombshell:
Hollywood Roosevelt’s
Marilyn Monroe Suite
Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel
Los Angeles
(800) 950-7667; hollywoodroosevelt.com
In a city that’s not well known for its
appreciation of old things, Los Angeles’ Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel
stands out -- and not just because of its trademark red neon sign.
The property marked its 80th birthday this year, making it the
oldest continuously operating hotel in Tinseltown. But the
Roosevelt hasn’t remained unchanged since its Roaring ’20s debut:
In 2005, it was taken over by Thompson Hotels, the sophisticated
luxury brand, renovated to the tune of $30 million and updated for
a new century -- and a new crowd.
The renovation was led by designer Dodd
Mitchell, who worked with the Hollywood Historical Society to
redesign the hotel with an eye to its namesake town’s Golden Age.
All public areas and 300 guest rooms were redone by Mitchell in an
understated yet elegant style. Most of the 60 cabana rooms have
private terraces with views of the heated outdoor pool, which
boasts an underwater mural by British pop artist David Hockney -- a
clever nod to the paintings of swimming pools for which
Hockney is well known.
All rooms at the Roosevelt feature luxe
enticements like a minibar with Dean & Deluca nibbles, bed
linens by Sferra and Frette, and toiletries by Fresh. In the
cabanas and suites are Bose Lifestyle CD clock radios and plasma
TVs -- the better to listen to those Grammy-winning artists or
watch those Oscar-winning actors.
The hotel’s largest meeting space, a
4,400-square-foot ballroom with 25-foot ceilings that can fit 500
people, hosted the inaugural Academy Awards, in 1929. Other meeting
space includes the Oscar Room, at 3,000 square feet, and the
Academy, at 2,500 square feet.
Gramercy Park Hotel
New York City
(866) 784-1300; gramercyparkhotel.com
In 1984, Ian Schrager instigated the
boutique hotel revolution with the opening of Morgans in New York
City. The property quickly became a smash success, eventually
proving itself to be the boutique hotel that launched a thousand
chic ships.
In August 2006, Schrager responded to
the beast he created with his reinvention, together with artist
Julian Schnabel, of the storied Gramercy Park Hotel. Before the two
took it over, the 1925 property sported a sort of careworn glamour.
Following its transformation, the Gramercy Park, in the opinion of
its director of sales and marketing Bryan Finkelman, “really
represents a brand-new experience in travel. It redefines how
people think about a luxury hotel.”
Now an extravagant, dramatic property
filled with romantic hues of jade, rose and Renaissance blue, the
hotel represents a new iteration of boutique luxury by one of the
business’s premier tastemakers. From the moment one enters its lush
red lobby, with high wooden ceilings, outsize crystal chandelier
and distressed leather chairs, you know you’re in for something
special. And though it does feel very hip, at the same time it
feels very homey and lived-in: Note the stacks of firewood and the
crackling fire in the stone hearth.
Upstairs, each of the 187 guest rooms
is unique, though certain themes keep popping up: Clusters of
differently sized light bulbs hang in the bathrooms, while in place
of a standard desk is a leather table. Framed Magnum photos adorn
the walls, and each bed has an oversized headboard in one of the
hotel’s signature colors. Dark hardwood floors are covered by rich
rugs, while plasma-screen TVs hang above iPod speaker stations.
Meeting rooms, while not large, are
plush and quiet, with touches of the avant-garde that elsewhere
predominates. In one meeting room, a wall sports a medicine cabinet
sculpture by Damien Hirst, who has another piece in the hotel’s
ultra-exclusive ground-floor Rose Bar; in another, floor-to-ceiling
windows overlook the greenery and wrought iron of Gramercy Park
itself. Lastly, the multiple rooms of the enclosed rooftop area,
where breakfast is served in the morning and cocktails in the
evening, can be rented out by groups. The area has a bit of a
hothouse feel to it, with hanging plants and ivy everywhere -- a
fitting flourish for the overripe luxury hotel the space tops
off.