Boutique Design - March 2015 - 16

the buzz

CARVI CARVES OUT A NICHE IN NY

MENIN HOSPITALITY'S GALE FLAG
HEADING TO FORT LAUDERDALE
Menin Hospitality is taking its Gale South Beach concept north to Fort
Lauderdale, Fla. Slated to open late next year, the Gale Boutique Hotel and
Residences will consist of a 96-key hotel housed in a 1940s hotel that will
undergo a top-to-bottom renovation, along with 128 luxury condos in an
adjoining new 12-story building. Construction on the $120 million project is
scheduled to start late this summer, the Miami Herald reports.
Gale Fort Lauderdale will occupy a group of buildings that formerly
housed the Escape Hotel, which Theo Meyer and Lester Avery designed in
1949. The hotel's guest rooms and suites will incorporate design elements
from the Gale South Beach hotel that debuted in December 2012.
Next door, the new tower will house residences including one-, two- and
three-bedroom units and townhomes. The property will also feature a rooftop sky deck, private lobby, fitness center and spa, multiple resort-style pools
and street-level retail space.
"Gale Fort Lauderdale's aesthetic and ambiance will echo the sexy, sophisticated persona we've introduced at Gale South Beach while paying homage
to Fort Lauderdale Beach's history as a resort town," says Keith Menin, principal, Menin Hospitality.
Miami-based Newgard Development Group is spearheading the project's
development, and the property will be managed by Menin Hospitality. Real
estate investment company Merrimac Ventures is also a participant. Menin
Hospitality also recently opened the Gale Suites at Kaskades, which is housed
in a former apartment building adjacent to the Gale South Beach. 

CORRECTIONS:
The "Living Large" feature in the January/February 2015 issue of Boutique
Design included some incorrect information on page 36 about the locations of Rottet Studio's U.S. offices; they are in Houston, New York and
Los Angeles. In addition, the source list on that page incorrectly listed
David Davis as the company's president; that title is held by founding
principal Lauren Rottet. Note: These errors have been corrected in the
digital edition of the issue that's posted on BoutiqueDesign.com.

boutiquedesign.com march 2015

DA N I E L A U B R Y ( C A R V I ) ; C O U R T E S Y O F G A L E B O U T I Q U E H O T E L & R E S I D E N C E S

Designers working on New York hotels are often challenged to make
the most of small spaces. So it was for DiGuiseppe Architect in making
upgrades to the lobby and guest rooms at the Carvi Hotel, a 47-key
boutique property on East 55th St.
The hotel's rooms average about 150 sq. ft. "Upgrading those spaces
involved creating new headboards, feature wallcoverings, side tables and
lamps, as well as the creation of a unit system that could provide a small
desk, wardrobe and house the mini bar and safe all in one," says Anthony
DiGuiseppe, owner and principal of the firm bearing his surname. For
rooms too small to house a full desk/wardrobe, DiGuiseppe designed
side tables (bottom photo) consisting of prefinished wood panels and
antique mirror laminate.
In the lobby (top photo), meantime, designers added some visual
punch with feature lighting and a new check-in desk equipped with
LEDs. And to help visually enlarge the space, a set of shimmering tiles
were installed on its back wall. (Those tiles also help mask the presence
of a staircase).
The hotel is owned and managed by a Brazilian family (the hotel's
name is an amalgam of the names of two of the founder's sons, Carlos
and Victor). The Carvi is the family's second hotel; the first is on the coast
of Portugal. In addition, the family has hired DiGuiseppe to design a
new Brazilian Portuguese restaurant in Little Brazil of Manhattan, and is
looking for another hotel venue in New York.
(For a list of project participants, go to BoutiqueDesign.com)

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Boutique Design - March 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Boutique Design - March 2015