Hospitality Design - November 2016 - 108

A rendering of a guestroom at the
Sanya EDITION, set to open this year

did together was iconic, witty, and irreverent;
you had to do that to get noticed in the sea of
sameness.

Forty Four lobby lounge at the Royalton in New
York, designed by Roman and Williams in 2007

A rendering of 215 Chrystie in New York, with
architecture by Herzog & de Meuron, which will
feature condos and a PUBLIC Hotel

The areas you opened your hotels in
were still a bit off the beaten path.
You can open a distinctive product on any side
of the tracks; people will go. You know that
better than anybody else.

I try at least. You created social
environments by doing restaurants
with Jeffrey Chodorow or bars with
Rande Gerber. That energy didn't exist
in hotels at the time.
It's supposed to be more than just a place
to sleep. The social fabric of the city was
manifested at hotels throughout the world from
the Roman times. It seemed like a common
sense idea: Why not go to a hotel where the
coolest bar is in the lobby? Now it's more
competitive so you've got to offer something
even a bit more distinct.

After you sold Morgans Hotel Group,
were you concerned your new wave-
Gramercy Park in New York, PUBLIC in
Chicago and soon New York, and the
EDITION brand with Marriott-was
breaking away from your formula?
Did you think you could only capture
lightning in a bottle so many times?
The only formula was no formula. What was
difficult about the Gramercy was a different
aesthetic-it became more of an intellectual
process rather than instinctive. There was a
rationality involved. I was doing something
that wasn't my normal aesthetic. To that extent,
it was a very difficult project. But the second I
can't pull a rabbit out of a hat, I would stop.

that felt quirky and individualized like the way
an artist's studio feels; they're all stylish but
different depending on the artist. I knew people
wouldn't expect that from me, which is why I
wanted to do it. I wasn't going to get the world
excited about doing another hotel with Philippe.

Has the guest become more
demanding or more educated, since
they seem to want a 5-Star experience
in a cooler setting?
Yes, but you can have casual and still have
luxury. You can have a modern luxury that's
suitable for a different kind of person than our
parents. When I originally did hotels, people
had to sacrifice things to stay in the coolest
place in town. Now the idea is you don't have
to sacrifice anything because there are other
products, there are other alternatives; you've
got to keep moving and add a layer. It's about
having great service in an unpretentious,
modern way.

Did you see something in Julian
Schnabel, the artist who designed the
Gramercy, that you saw in Starck?

Are PUBLIC and EDITION
competitors?

I had known Julian, his home, and the store
he had done. He had this attitude about
everything. He was a better fit. The idea for
the Gramercy was a bohemian kind of place

No. PUBLIC is a luxury hotel, but it's affordable.
EDITION is a luxury hotel that's more
expensive. Why not have a luxury hotel that is
cool and gives you the exciting entertainment

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November 2016 hospitalitydesign.com

that you want without sacrificing anything?
I think there's a void below the typical
boutique lifestyle hotel [that offers] the same
sophisticated experience, the same food and
beverage, the same everything, but it's cheaper.
There's an opportunity above boutique lifestyle
and in boutique lifestyle as well.
The boutiques are all starting to look alike
again but in different colors. It's a bad thing.
That's what happened 30 years ago, which was
my opportunity, and it's happening again.

You've worked with some of the most
accomplished designers. Coming
from the nightclub world and an
unconventional hotel structure, you
have more patience to run through the
creative process with them without
confrontation, whereas traditional real
estate people tend to butt heads.
You have to have the patience for it. I couldn't
work with Marriott with the same kind of
designers I'm willing to work with on my own.
The designers I work with at Marriott I have
to push; the designers I work with on my own
I have to hold back. They're not willing to deal
with some of the unprofessional behavior you
get, but that's what I like and what you like.
They don't have the patience for it and rightly
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