The Gold Coast's Ambassador East hotel and storied restaurant the Pump Room aren't set to reopen until the fall, but hotelier Ian Schrager recently revealed some details about his plans for the historic building. The hotel will be named Public, and a press release, issued earlier this week, offers some insight into what the new hotel won't be: It'll be "free of tricks and gimmicks," "anti-design," "anti-flash," and above all, it won't be exclusive. And it won't be hip—at least not consciously: "We are trying not to be hip, we are in fact anti-hip, and therefore by definition, we are," says Schrager.
OK, so what will the place be like? Schrager describes the aesthetic as "sincere chic," which he acknowledges is "an aesthetic that cannot be classified because it is so personal." And he says the hotel will be dressed in "no color colors." You're losing us, Schrager. What we do know is that the hotel will have public spaces called 'chat rooms,' which will have "intimate seating areas with communal work tables and computer stations." Schrager plans to create a space that encourages social interaction, or "Lobby Socializing," as he calls it in his singular parlance. And for a peek at the interior, one photo has been released (above), showing a bed with muted colors. Public is set to open at preview rates that start at $135 on September 12.
· Press release: Schrager debuts new brand: PUBLIC [HNN Newswire]
· Ian Schrager Teaming with Jean-Georges Vongerichten for Pump Room [Eater]