Saturday, January 08, 2011
Thursday, January 06, 2011
Sunday, December 05, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Ace Hotel Group
The Ace Hotel Group (http://www.acehotel.com) launched its first hotel in Seattle in 1999; it now operates properties in Portland, Ore., New York and Palm Springs, Calif., as well. The chain was officially founded by Alex Calderwood, along with a small group of friends, who purchased and transformed a Seattle halfway house into an affordable hotel that would appeal to the creative class.
Calderwood and friends had previously founded Rudy's, a retro hip barbershop concept he started in Seattle that eventually expanded to more than a dozen West Coast locations. Another venture known as “Neverstop” began as an event space & promotional firm that ultimately evolved into a record label and then a full service marketing and advertising company. The company attracted investors such as Stone Gossard from the musical group Pearl Jam and entrepreneur Michael "Mic" Neumann. In 2007 Calderwood opened a second hotel in Portland, followed by properties in Palm Springs in 2009 and New York in 2010.
“We’re getting people all over the board and surprisingly, a lot older audience than you would think,” Calderwood says of the clientele for Portland’s Ace Hotel. “It’s really a mind-set, people who are attuned to a certain outlook or point of view.
Calderwood notes that Ace Hotels reflect the style and culture of their host city. “I think that we’re very much inspired by context and geography, so that when you’re in a particular city, when you’re in Portland you get a sense of Portland. I think we’ve done that in New York, where you have a sense of New York. So it’s not obtaining the same template and trying to apply it to any city anywhere.”
Calderwood and friends had previously founded Rudy's, a retro hip barbershop concept he started in Seattle that eventually expanded to more than a dozen West Coast locations. Another venture known as “Neverstop” began as an event space & promotional firm that ultimately evolved into a record label and then a full service marketing and advertising company. The company attracted investors such as Stone Gossard from the musical group Pearl Jam and entrepreneur Michael "Mic" Neumann. In 2007 Calderwood opened a second hotel in Portland, followed by properties in Palm Springs in 2009 and New York in 2010.
“We’re getting people all over the board and surprisingly, a lot older audience than you would think,” Calderwood says of the clientele for Portland’s Ace Hotel. “It’s really a mind-set, people who are attuned to a certain outlook or point of view.
Calderwood notes that Ace Hotels reflect the style and culture of their host city. “I think that we’re very much inspired by context and geography, so that when you’re in a particular city, when you’re in Portland you get a sense of Portland. I think we’ve done that in New York, where you have a sense of New York. So it’s not obtaining the same template and trying to apply it to any city anywhere.”
Ace Hotel & Swim Club Palm Springs
The Ace Hotel & Swim Club is located in South Palm Springs directly across from one of the city's chicest residential areas known as Deepwell Estates. Built within the shell of a Howard Johnson Lodge, the Ace Hotel is a unique example of adaptive reuse. The grounds have been transformed into a garden of mature palms and olive trees, and patios include outdoor fireplaces. The King's Highway restaurant, a former Denny's, now serves Middle Eastern cuisine with a California edge.
Ace Hotel founder Alex Calderwood notes that the Palm Springs project has kept the spirit of the first generation Ho Jo Motel and at the same time transformed it into a hip and chic boutique style luxury resort. During an interview, Calderwood provides his prospective on the hotel’s transformation.
“What’s different for us is — to Ace there’s a certain spirit or ethos, and I think it can apply itself to a lot of different geographies and a lot of different architectures. Part of why doing this project was interesting to us, especially at the same time that we were doing New York, is we start with: what is the building, and where is it. What is the context? To me it seemed completely logical that we would apply our point of view to a motor hotel or to a motel.”
Ace frequently partners with retail brands to provide unique in house merchandise for their guests. Some recent promotions include limited edition Havaianas flip-flops and Arkitip boat shoes and tote bags.
Ace Hotel founder Alex Calderwood notes that the Palm Springs project has kept the spirit of the first generation Ho Jo Motel and at the same time transformed it into a hip and chic boutique style luxury resort. During an interview, Calderwood provides his prospective on the hotel’s transformation.
“What’s different for us is — to Ace there’s a certain spirit or ethos, and I think it can apply itself to a lot of different geographies and a lot of different architectures. Part of why doing this project was interesting to us, especially at the same time that we were doing New York, is we start with: what is the building, and where is it. What is the context? To me it seemed completely logical that we would apply our point of view to a motor hotel or to a motel.”
Ace frequently partners with retail brands to provide unique in house merchandise for their guests. Some recent promotions include limited edition Havaianas flip-flops and Arkitip boat shoes and tote bags.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Armani Hotel Dubai Background
Five years in the making, repeatedly delayed by financial and then natural disaster, the city’s most hotly anticipated hotel finally opened. The Armani Hotel Dubai, located in Burj Dubai brings to life the 'Stay with Armani' promise. The 160-room hotel is located on floors one through eight and floors 38 & 39 of the 163-story building. All rooms at what locals are already calling “the Armani” are a tasteful mix of Asia and Arabia. The color palette of the hotel is muted metallics, greys and browns, with fabric-covered walls and sleek corridors. There are very few door handles anywhere, and room doors automatically open by touching your key card to a panel.
The hotel's eight food and beverage outlets offer the Armani experience alongside fine cuisine. There are restaurants by top Japanese and Italian chefs, including Milan’s Peck family. Hotel meeting space includes 30,000 sq ft of conference and banquet facilities called the Armani/Ballroom; and the Armani/Pavilion, a spacious outdoor area for up to 350 guests. Armani/Prive, the nightclub and lounge, seats 300 people by reservation, in a dark subterranean space that glows by the light of fashion shows projected onto a wall.
The Armani’s rooms start at $750 per night, plus tax, and climb to $2,500 for a larger suite with walk-in closets, spacious bathrooms, and a broad terrace overlooking Dubai's dancing fountain. By late May, as the summer heat starts to settle in, an Armani Studio goes for $550 per night, and an Armani Signature Suite for $2,200. As reflected in the line of Maseratis and Bentleys parked in front of the lobby, Armani is aiming for a clientele that won't worry about the price tag. Some 144 Armani apartments are for sale in the Burj Dubai; about half have been sold with prices ranging from £1 to £5 million Euros.
The hotel's eight food and beverage outlets offer the Armani experience alongside fine cuisine. There are restaurants by top Japanese and Italian chefs, including Milan’s Peck family. Hotel meeting space includes 30,000 sq ft of conference and banquet facilities called the Armani/Ballroom; and the Armani/Pavilion, a spacious outdoor area for up to 350 guests. Armani/Prive, the nightclub and lounge, seats 300 people by reservation, in a dark subterranean space that glows by the light of fashion shows projected onto a wall.
The Armani’s rooms start at $750 per night, plus tax, and climb to $2,500 for a larger suite with walk-in closets, spacious bathrooms, and a broad terrace overlooking Dubai's dancing fountain. By late May, as the summer heat starts to settle in, an Armani Studio goes for $550 per night, and an Armani Signature Suite for $2,200. As reflected in the line of Maseratis and Bentleys parked in front of the lobby, Armani is aiming for a clientele that won't worry about the price tag. Some 144 Armani apartments are for sale in the Burj Dubai; about half have been sold with prices ranging from £1 to £5 million Euros.
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Rafael Viñoly’s Vdara Hotel
The Vdara hotel and spa recently opened in Las Vegas, part of the new 67-acre CityCenter urban resort development. The hotel was designed by New York architect Rafael Viñoly. Some of Viñoly's projects include the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia and the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University.
The crescent-shaped Vdara hotel features three parallel, offset arcs rising to varying heights. The horizontally striped facade comprises alternating bands of reflective vision glass and light-diffusing, acid-etched spandrel glass in black and white, set on different planes to achieve a shimmering texture.
The 57 story building includes a curved pool deck located over Harmon Circle, a two-level health and beauty spa, salon and fitness centre, a conference center and ballroom.
The hotel's 1,495 suites are wider and shallower than most hotel suites, to maximize views and daylight penetration. The three-arc floor plan also allows six corner rooms rather than four per floor.
The crescent-shaped Vdara hotel features three parallel, offset arcs rising to varying heights. The horizontally striped facade comprises alternating bands of reflective vision glass and light-diffusing, acid-etched spandrel glass in black and white, set on different planes to achieve a shimmering texture.
The 57 story building includes a curved pool deck located over Harmon Circle, a two-level health and beauty spa, salon and fitness centre, a conference center and ballroom.
The hotel's 1,495 suites are wider and shallower than most hotel suites, to maximize views and daylight penetration. The three-arc floor plan also allows six corner rooms rather than four per floor.
CityCenter By The Numbers
CITY-CENTER BY THE NUMBERS:
- 67 acres on the Vegas Strip
- Four hotels with 6,300 hotel rooms, two with condos; one mega casino resort with 4,004 rooms
- Two condo towers, contributing to a total of 2,400 CityCenter condos
- A 750,000-square-foot retail/entertainment complex with the USA's largest Louis Vuitton and Prada stores, plus Tiffany, Versace and Cartier, to name a few.
- More than a dozen restaurants from name chefs and stars including Wolfgang Puck, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Todd English, Michael Mina, Eva Longoria Parker and more.
- About $40 million in art, including an eye-catching piece composed of about 250 small boats, including rowboats, canoes and kayaks, by Nancy Rubins.
- Three spas, including an 80,000-square-foot spa with 62 treatment rooms at Aria.
- 300,000 square feet of meeting space at Aria; more at the other hotels.
- CityCenter's own energy-generating plant and fire station.
- The first fleet of stretch limos powered by clean-burning compressed natural gas.
- Slot-machine bases that serve as floor air-conditioning units, cooling guests from the ground, rather than wasting energy by chilling from the ceiling
MGM Mirage (MGM)
Co-owned by MGM Mirage and Dubai World, the multi-use CityCenter provides a total of 18 million square feet of space. MGM Mirage (NYSE:MGM) runs hotels and casinos throughout the world, most notably in Las Vegas and burgeoning Macau. The company generates slightly less than half of its operating income from casino activities with lodging, dining, entertainment and retail services comprising most of the rest. MGM also hosts major conventions and operates gambling facilities for third parties.
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