Declaring his new hotel a “disruption in hospitality,” hotelier Ian Schrager (he of Studio 54 and Palladium nightclubs fame), has launched Public Hotel – a new-build in Manhattan’s Lower East Side some four years in the making.
Luxury for all sounds the battle cry of Public, which claims to redefine that particular state as experience-based, not hung up on the acquiring of fancy stuff. Instead of nitpicking over thread count, providing a great bed. Instead of coffee served in china, locally roasted beans, delivered hot and fast.
And, with room costs starting at US$150, the hotel appears to be taking that claim of accessibility seriously.
Schrager, who got his feet wet in the hotel industry with Morgans back in 1984, has now set his sights on the 367-room Public Hotel, whose concept of open spaces and collaboration was designed to give Airbnb a run for its money. The design, self-described as “cozy radical chic,” includes a chosen mix of finishes and furniture not classified under a particular style. The Swiss-based Herzog & de Meuron is behind the hotel’s sleek glass façade – Schrader used the firm previously on his 40 Bond condominium building in 2007.
Public offers three bars as well as two restaurants from French Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten: Public Kitchen and Louis. The former is the hotel’s main restaurant featuring a smoker, wood-burning oven and wood burning grill as a focal point, the latter is part grocery, luncheonette, and coffee shop rolled into one.
In keeping with the never-ending theme of personalization, the hotel introduces the concept of the “public advisor,” problem-solving fixers employed by Public to smooth out the guest experience.
Tech aspects include free Wifi, mobile and self-check in, mobile key, Apple TVs in every guest room, online food ordering and expedited communication via a custom-designed chat bot. Each room has 12 accessible outlets and USB ports in the guest rooms and communal workspaces.
In keeping with Schrager’s Studio 54 past, the hotel also boasts a progressive, avant-garde multimedia performance space – Public Arts – which will book film screenings, theatrical and dance productions, intimate musical performances, art exhibitions, lectures, talks, readings, product launches, comedy and amateur nights, and dancing.