Studio 54 founder launches hotel of the future, where guests do self check-in and collect their OWN room service
The new Public Hotel in New York delivers luxury for all at budget prices because it has scrapped many of the fussy aspects of posh hotels
WHAT do you like most about staying a hotel - is it the charming doorman, or maybe the luxury of ordering room service?
Well, those little comforts could soon be a thing of the past according to Ian Schrager - the man famous for founding both the iconic Studio 54 nightclub and the Boutique Hotel category of accommodation.
The New York hotelier says his new Lower East Side Public Hotel may be his best yet, as it delivers luxury for all at budget prices – because it does away when many of the fussy aspects of posh establishments.
Ian told Julie Earle Levine of the : “This is really the first time I’ve really done what I wanted to do.
"I’ve been working on this four years.”
The design is super chic, with fancy restaurants, lush gardens and, in the rooms, floor-to-ceiling windows that look out over the city from its prestigious Manhattan location.
There’s a Jean-Georges Vongerichten Public Kitchen main restaurant and three bars, including one on the roof.
All of this and the starting price is $150 a room.
However, there are some surprises for guests used to this level of luxury hotel - Ian has cut corners in certain areas to save money, starting with self check-in.
There is no room service — the healthy fast food chain Sweetgreen has a food shelf on every floor of the hotel.
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Guests order food from their room and then go and pick it up from the shelf a few minutes later.
Ian said: “If you want room service in any hotel you are going to pay a $5, $6, $7, $8 charge for it.
“You’ll pay $20 to $30 for a pot of coffee. You have to wait 45 minutes for breakfast. To me that is not luxury.”
He says guests can also wander downstairs and get what they want from Louis, a part market, part luncheonette and café that serves reasonably priced food via counter service or grab and go.
In the basement is a club called Public Arts, with film screenings, dance, theatre, music, art and comedy, that evolves in to a nightclub.
Ian is now planning to roll out many more Publics.
He said: “I’m not going to do 1,000 because that doesn’t interest me, but I’d like to do enough of them to convince big hotel companies to change.”
He’s thinking at least three or four in New York, along with Vegas and Nashville for starters.
