Billing itself as a “mission-driven luxury lifestyle brand,” 1 Hotels — managed by SH Group, whose parent company is Starwood Capital Group, led by Barry Sternlicht — has debuted in South Beach, Florida. Two additional properties in New York’s Central Park and Brooklyn Bridge Park are expected to open later this year.
1 Hotels aims to celebrate nature while encouraging guests to live well, do better, and connect with the world around them. Each hotel in the portfolio is designed in collaboration with eco-friendly architects and craftsmen, and each property features reclaimed and natural materials wherever possible.
At the 426-room 1 Hotel & Homes South Beach, guests will be welcomed with 3,000 feet (914 meters) of living wall wrapped around its exterior with 11,000 local tropical plant varieties. At the Central Park hotel, guests will be greeted by hanging kokedamas in the lobby with terrariums and indoor window planters in guestrooms.
Chef Tom Colicchio will oversee three food and beverage programs and in-room dining at 1 Hotel & Homes South Beach, including Beachcraft, which will highlight Florida’s best fisherman and farmers; the lobby bar, Tom on Collins; and the poolside restaurant and bar The Sand Box. In May, the property will introduce 1 Kitchen: Organic Food And Juice Bar by Spring Cafe.
At 1 Hotel Central Park Chef Jonathan Waxman will bring his JAMS restaurant back to life, highlighting the California cuisine movement he launched in New York. Later in 2015, Chef Seamus Mullen will open his first Brooklyn restaurant at 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Other 1 Hotels offerings will include the Lobby Farmstand, which once a month will feature local farmers and purveyors presenting their goods for purchase by guests and the community, and a monthly “Dark Sky” event wherein the lights will dim for a candlelit evening in public spaces with specially crafted cocktails and a series of activities, allowing guests to unplug for a few hours.
“I decided that if I was ever going to create another hotel, I wanted it to be more than a brand — I wanted it to be a cause,” Sternlicht said. “What we are really offering is an evolution of the entire hotel experience, one that is more natural in regards to the way we arrive, sleep, eat, relax and do. By focusing on simple changes that make life better, we will encourage guests to stop, recalibrate and hopefully gain some inspiration from the small steps we have taken to protect nature at each property.”