Behind the cream-color brick facade lies a "hotel as art" showplace, conceived by entrepreneur Ian Schrager and artist-designer Philippe Starck. The dramatically textured and illuminated lobby, dominated by a gigantic Napoleonic chair, offers surreal yet practical seating options, some adjacent the roaring gas fireplace. Spacious rooms with high ceilings have translucent orange Plexiglas tables, and two huge "infinity" wall mirrors. Some visitors remark on the thin walls, and also recommend booking a room on an upper-level floor to avoid street noise. The renowned Art Deco Redwood Room bar, paneled with wood from a 2,000-year-old tree, draws "beautiful people" nightly. Asia de Cuba restaurant artfully fuses Asian and Latino cuisines.
Posted by mldojnia from CT on 7/10/08
Nice hotel but for the price I would have stayed somewhere not so trendy. This hotel is very hyped up because the thirty and up crowds think its important to be seen spending absorbent prices for ok drinks. Concierge was great and extremely helpful.Our bathroom was sooo small. The water pressure was amazing but the water didn't drain well,by time I finished my shower, the tub was 3/4 full. Oh, and if you want to watch a little bit of T.V. on your trip know that ours was a 19 inch and the movies are $14. I wish I had stayed somewhere else and went to the Clift to sight see (if you want to take a look around make sure you do it during the day because you have to show a privilege card w/ your name on it to get in during the evening hours, especially if it is a busy night).
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