Hospitality Design - January/February 2011 - 37

sketchbook

perspectives

TAKE A TRIP
Wyndham is increasing its presence in Europe and Latin America with TRYP, a select-service, mid-priced brand, which the company acquired from Sol Meliá Hotels & Resorts representing roughly 13,000 rooms and 92 hotels. “We acquired TRYP because of its strategic presence in major international cities and the signi cant growth opportunities it presents,” explains Wyndham Hotel Group president and CEO Eric Danziger. “Our brand pillars: cosmopolitan essence, Mediterranean air, and energetic spirit,” says Daniel del Olmo, brand senior vice president of TRYP by Wyndham, adding that they hope to double the size of the brand to nearly 200 hotels by 2015. One of the newest properties will be the rst for North America: the 173room TRYP New York City – Times Square South. Set to open later this spring on West 35th Street and designed by local designer Glen Coben, it will feature two room types unique to the brand— tness rooms that come equipped with tness machines and complimentary workout clothes, and family rooms featuring a large bed for parents and bunk beds for kids. Across the pond, the 229-room Berlin property (shown) opened in December in the city’s trendy Mitte District. The rst TRYP property for the capital city boasts modern furnishings, bold colors, wood oors, and artwork from contemporary local artists.

trend alert! old luxury
Ladies, break out the white gloves. Gentlemen, break out your top hats. New York is seeing a return to classic glamour and old luxury. After growing up in Istanbul, the last stop of the Orient Express, bar owner Osman Cakir became fascinated with the long-distance train service. And now, he has translated his childhood memories into his new bar, named after the passenger train, set in New York’s West Village. “I grew up with spy stories that took place on the Orient Express and I probably watched all the movies that were lmed on the train,” says Cakir. “Therefore, I had formed an image of my own Orient Express in my mind at an early age.” After seeing that the space next door to his bohemian wine bar Turks & Frogs was available, he knew it would be the perfect t for a train-inspired bar because of its long and narrow space. Cakir created a curved ceiling to make it more train car-like, used two different colored wood panels to mimic an elegant dining car on the Orient Express, and designed and built luggage racks on top of every window. And he hung vintage copper and brass pendant light xtures above the CaesarStone bartop. “I put a lot of vintage luggage pieces on those luggage racks to make the ‘passengers’ feel like they are actually on the Orient Express,” he says, noting vintage Orient Express posters, passports, cocktail shakers, and various bar tools were also used throughout. “I love creating time capsules,” he says. Dressing up in tuxedos and evening gowns, eating a classic dinner, and enjoying some live music and entertainment. That’s what nightlife duo Scott Sartiano and Richie Akiva hope the Darby brings back to New York. Housed in what used to be Nell’s supper club, the Darby goes back to the building’s old roots, reinventing the space with a modern cabaret dining concept created by designer Steve Lewis that bridges together fashion, music, and dining. “We wanted to render that golden era and the classical restaurants seen in old movies,” says Lewis. To bring back the old-school feel, Lewis used classic molding, a garnet red color scheme complemented by a modern birdcagelike screen encasing the space, pressed wallpapers, and Victorian glamour referencing New York’s original supper clubs like El Morocco. Nickel chandeliers, hand-carved pillowing on the bar face, and oversized spindle-back banquettes bring the space some modern air. “The important theme that translates into every aspect of designing the space is the fusing of two disparate styles of design in order to create a sense of unusualness, appropriateness, transformation, and sculptural ambiguity,” he says.

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January/February 2011

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