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Hotel slump? Don’t tell them

January 13, 2010 | Hospitality Industry

To open a hotel in 2010 - when the industry is in its worst slump in decades - requires chutzpah, write The New York Times. Who’s got chutzpah? Donald Trump, for one. The Trump SoHo, a 391-room hotel in Lower Manhattan, is expected to open this spring, towering over its low-rise neighbors with a lot of razzle-dazzle.

Oh, and Kelly Wearstler has chutzpah. The former Playboy centerfold is putting the finishing touches on the Viceroy Snowmass in Colorado and the Viceroy Anguilla in the Caribbean. Both have the kind of glamour that have made Ms. Wearstler a top interior designer and Bravo TV star.

And Giorgio Armani has chutzpah, or whatever it’s called in Italian. This spring, he plans to unveil the first in a much-hyped chain of Armani Hotels. Where? In the Burj Dubai, the tallest building in the world. The hotel features lots of dark leather and wood and - given Dubai’s economic troubles - will stand either as a symbol of rebirth or of hubris.

It won’t be the only new hotel in the emirate. One & Only Resorts is set to open a new resort on the tree-shaped Palm Jumeirah Island. So what if there’s already a One & Only (the Royal Mirage) overlooking Palm Jumeirah Island? Call it the Two & Only.

Get the full story at The New York Times

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