With a grand opening on May 17, the 290-room Palace Hotel Tokyo will be a re-envisioning of the original Palace Hotel, which opened in 1961 as Japan’s first ever mixed use office-hotel building. That hotel was razed in 2009 to make way for this newer, sleeker, more modernized version. Ten restaurants and bars, a Club Lounge, an Evian Spa and free WiFi are some of the amenities the hotel is advertising, and all rooms supposedly have views of the gardens at Tokyo’s Imperial Palace. So know you know why it’s called the Palace hotel. The designs for the guest rooms and lobby area were done by Terry McGinnity, manager of GA Design International, known for hotel designs such as the Threadneedles in London, W Taipei and the upcoming Park Hyatt Mallorca.
South Beach Group Hotels has aquired the vacant Croydon Arms Hotel in Miami’s Mid Beach district, home to such hotels as the Fontainebleau and the Eden Roc. With the property’s close proximity to famed Millionaire’s Row, South Beach Group’s latest purchase will soon be the spot for people searching for more than just partying 24/7 in South Beach. The building at 3720 Collins Avenue was purchased for $6.75 million and a planned $15 million renovation of the property, which was built in 1937, is to follow. South Beach Group Hotels currently operates nine hotels and apartment complexes in Miami, including the Catalina Hotel & Beach Club, the Hotel Chelsea and the Whitelaw Hotel.
Not Kimpton Hotels, as we reported March 31, but Access Hotels & Resorts assumed management of the Hotel Sax Chicago from Thompson Hotels. Access and Sax owner, LaSalle Hotel Properties, could not be reached for comment reports The Chicago Tribune. Outgoing general manager Michael Carsh, a Thompson employee, attributed the split to a “philosophical difference.”
NYC’s historic Buckingham Hotel will reopen after its two year extensive renovation as The Quin. The Quin will be managed by Highgate Hotels which owns or manages several hotels around the city, including the Doubletree Metropolitan Hotel and the Paramount. Opened in 1929, the Buckingham was once a hub for opera singers and jazz musicians visiting the city to perform, largely because it is close to many of the city’s premiere theaters. The lobby once had numerous sculptures of famous musicians, complete with their old instruments. It’s unclear if the new management will maintain the hotel’s musical theme. Seven remaining elderly residents at the hotel in rent-stabilized apartments have complained about a nightmare full-building renovation that’s caused noise, flooding, broken pipes, hanging wires, and respiratory problems they blame on toxic dust.
The New York Post reported that Starwood Capital (not to be confused with Starwood Hotels) and Tribeca Associates are partnering to develop the fourth through 12th floors of a 45-story tower in Manhattan across the street from the Museum of Modern Art. Luxury condominiums will take up the top floors while the bottom floors will be used by the New York Public Library. The development is set to open in 2014 and its total cost is US$400 million. Baccarat currently operates a residences property in Shanghai and is set to open a hotel and residences property in Dubai, United Arab Emirates in 2013.