Hotelier Ian Schrager and designer Philippe Starck may have created the modern boutique hotel as we know it but their vision of the stylish urban escape is being carried forward by a new slate of new hotel world stars.
Meet the hot hoteliers and interior designers by checking into these new hotels from Miami to Montauk.
The team
Jason Pomeranc & Stephen Brandman
The men behind the Thompson Hotels brand take their formula of cool, dark cocktail dens inside sleek city hotels beyond North America this year, with the opening of the first Thompson property in London and a revamp of Miami’s Hotel Victor on Ocean Drive.
The hotel
The Belgraves
20 Chesham Place,
London.
This brand new boutique hotel in (where else?) Belgravia opens on February 1.It’s reminiscent of sister property 60 Thompson in NYC.
The team
Ed Scheetz & Ben Pundole
This pair learned their craft at Morgans Hotel Group (Ian Schrager’s old company) and then launched King & Grove in 2010. They’ve been busy ever since, creating a mini empire of elegant beach getaways. They picked up Andre Balazs’s Surf Lodge in Montauk and are now running the iconic Tides in Miami Beach. Now, LA and NYC are in their sights.
The hotel
Ruschmeyer’s
161 Second House Road,
Montauk.
This 20-room, hippie-chic hotel opened last summer, with a beer garden, creative-cool clientele and simple cedar-planked rooms.
The team
Sam Nazarian
His SLS Beverly Hills debut with Philippe Starck design and fine food from Jose Andres and Katsuya, was such a hit that Nazarian is doing it all over again this April in South Beach. His empire also includes clubs such as Hyde, which has outposts in Hollywood and The Bellagio in Las Vegas.
The hotel
The Redbury
1717 Vine Street,
Los Angeles.
Huge rooms earn their “Hollywood flat” label with full kitchens and a cool-friend-crash-pad vibe. In one of Nazarian’s many savvy partnerships, photographer Matthew Rolston designed this hotel as a tribute to the rock’ n’ roll days of the 60’s and 70’s.
The team
Andre Fu
Hong Kong’s wunderkind made a splash with his modern design for the Upper House, and he’s proving a favourite with Shangri-La Hotels, too. After designing spaces for the Shangri-La Tokyo, his form AFSO Designs is now working on Shangri-Las in Istanbul (opening this year) and London (2013).
The hotel
The Fullerton Bay Hotel
80 Collyer Quay,
Singapore.
Fu’s sought-after talent transformed this hotel on the Marina Bay waterfront into an indelible blend of past, present and perfectly pretty.
The team
Yabu Pushelberg
This Canadian design studio has created luxury retail boutiques that look like high-end homes and restaurants, Miami’s db Bistro Moderne, which is built for theatre. Their current project list includes the new Public Chicago hotel.
The hotel
St Regis Bal Harbour
9703 Collins Avenue,
Bal Harbour.
For this glossy beachfront oasis, Yabu Pushelberg created a glittering jewel box-style lobby and elegant rooms in a neutral palette.