Ready for bed? Not us. When three hospitality teams unveil new hotel plans, there’s no way we’re hitting the hay.
Experimental caught our attention for their outre clubs and cocktail bars. Then came the Ibizan beach club and and their expansion into hotels with the brand new Verbier chalet. What next? Designs for Venice and Menorca hotels show that Experimental have a forte for knowing when they’re needed in the mix. The 40-acre Menora seafront property will feature horse stables and a kitchen garden, with farm-to-table meals as well as an Experimental Cocktail Bar on-site. For Venice, they’re building a canalside palazzo, no less.
Another hospitality group with a knack for choosing the soon-to-be-cool spots are Proper Hotel (they first made a splash in Hollywood and San Francisco) who arrive in Downtown LA this summer in the former Renaissance-Revival red brick YMCA (Santa Monica and Austin open later this year too). Here they’re fitting in two restaurants as well as a rooftop swimming pool. If you know Proper, you know this place will be a showstopper – get in ahead of the crowds.
And we couldn’t do a crossover trend without mentioning The Standard’s first property outside of the US. Opening in King’s Cross in spring, The Standard was originally conceived by André Balazs (Chiltern Firehouse, Chateau Marmont), so expect this 266-room hotel to feel like a hangout-with-rooms on a grand scale, with recording rooms, a record press and bathtubs overlooking St Pancras station. Balazs may have departed but grandeur is still in the brand DNA. Adam Rawson and Peter Sanchez-Iglesias will run the food side of the offering, including a ground floor restaurant and an indoor-outdoor garden restaurant on the roof. All in? We’re expecting a lot of Standard fun in 2019.
