You own the Gramercy Park Hotel and the Paramount Hotel in New York. Now you are opening the 221-room 11 Howard in SoHo in a former Holiday Inn. What did you want to create?
A comfy hotel that’s well designed with a timeless look—not as eclectic as Gramercy Park; something that’s more geared toward high-end customers—the fashionable, younger crowd. It’s on the last cool street left in SoHo. It’s a real neighborhood hotel.
What can we expect for the design?
[Design firm] Space out of Copenhagen [in collaboration with the hotel’s creative director Anda Andrei of Anda Andrei Design] did a stunning job with the restoration. I love their Nordic design sensibility—it’s neat and clean with beautiful wood, leather, and bronze; a modern version of very recognizable materials. It’s not about being hip or fashionable, but timeless and beautiful—washed out blue and pinks; their metals are dull and matte; beautiful wood.
How will this design translate through the rest of the hotel?
We will have a strong service component without being overwhelming. We have a casual way we deliver food, the hotel is private, the lobby leads straight to the elevators, so no one will bug you. That comes through in the design, the hotel’s attitude, the people [we hire]. We have a bar-club called the Blond; a library; Stephen Starr’s restaurant with French chef Daniel Rose; great art; uniforms by a cool designer friend of mine [Serkan Sarier]; a pop-up store from Copenhagen—all the right ingredients for great energy.
Why did you partner with Starr?
We are landlords for Upland [another Starr restaurant in New York], and have been saying we should work together. He’s great at picking the architects, the right chefs; he spends money. He gets it. It’s not another fancy chef vanity product, otherwise you would miss the market.
What’s next for you?
I am doing a hotel in Tel Aviv with John Pawson—an old monastery that we are converting to a W Hotel. I would love to do another in New York, something that has a different entertainment aspect, maybe a food show. It would be smart and fun, not too gimmicky. You have to deliver a really a good product, a real New York experience; something that is in tune with the neighborhood. That’s our story.
