A founder of the Ace Hotel Group and a 2008 Wave of the Future honoree, Alex Calderwood, died last Thursday at his company’s newest property in London. He was 47. 
Born in Denver and raised in Seattle, Calderwood began his professional life running a vintage clothing business. In the early 1990s, he and a friend invested $12,000 to reinvent the classic barbershop⎯⎯complete with barbers’ chairs, tile floors, and old posters. As the shop, Rudy’s, expanded into a chain, Calderwood and his partners were offered a lease on a 28-room property in a run-down part of the city.
Using reclaimed furniture, street art, and other features later recognized as Ace’s signature style, Calderwood and his partners created Ace Hotel. With its success, Calderwood took Ace Hotel to Portland, Oregon; Palm Springs, California; New York; and London. The chain also will open properties in Los Angeles and Panama.
Last year, HD interviewed Calderwood on the boutique hotel business. Click here to see more. In our November issue, HD also published an insider’s look into Ace Hotel’s newest property in London.
Calderwood is survived by his parents, Thomas and Katherine Calderwood; his brother, Tim Calderwood; and his sisters Donna Roberts and Tahnee Ferry.
