GREENWICH, Conn.—Starwood Capital Group today announces the launch of two new hotel brands, the luxury brand Baccarat Hotels & Resorts, and the lifestyle eco-brand 1 Hotels & Resorts, with five hotel openings scheduled under the group’s hotel brand management company, SH Group. The initial five hotel openings will occur over the next twenty-four months and include: Baccarat Hotel & Residences New York, N.Y.; Baccarat Hotel Rabat, Morocco; 1 Hotel & Residences South Beach, Fla.; 1 Hotel Central Park, N.Y.; and 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge Park, N.Y.
“What was once just an idea will soon be a reality,” said Barry Sternlicht, chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital Group. “With two revolutionary hotel brands entering the marketplace and five hotel openings in the next two years, we are confident that Baccarat and 1 Hotels will place Starwood Capital Group at the very forefront of the dynamic hospitality industry.”
Baccarat Hotels will be a new venture for the famed crystal company. Originally created by decree from King Louis XV, Baccarat is renowned for its craftsmanship, innovation, and design
Baccarat Hotel & Residences New York is located on 53rd Street just off Fifth Avenue directly across from the Museum of Modern Art and its sculpture garden. The 50-story glass tower will feature 114 guestrooms including 26 suites, as well as 61 private residences ranging from one- to four-bedrooms, including four full-floor units and a five-bedroom penthouse duplex with an outdoor terrace. The hotel will feature a stand alone “crystal bar” atop the base podium surrounded by an outdoor “tuileries” terrace, a spa, indoor pool and fitness facility, and a bar and restaurant entered at street level. Sales of the Baccarat Residences New York are expected to begin in March 2013. The Baccarat Hotel & Residences will open in 2014, coinciding with the brand’s 250th anniversary.
Future Baccarat locations are planned in Rabat, Dubai, Marrakech, and other locations in the Middle East and Asia.
1 Hotels will celebrate nature in its interior and exterior design and offer farm-to-table dining and other ecologically responsible amenities as well as distinctive green services. Each property will be built using LEED-certified building standards, including the adaptive re-use of raw materials wherever possible. 1 Hotels will begin its journey with three unique properties: The 1 Hotel & Residences South Beach, opening early 2014; The 1 Hotel Central Park, located on 58th Street and Sixth Avenue, opening in the spring of 2014; and, The 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge, opening in the summer 2015. Additional 1 Hotel properties will open internationally with the first location expected opening in Marrakech, Morocco.
The 1 Hotel & Residences South Beach is expected to open in the first quarter of 2014. The 1970’s building is being gut renovated and completely redesigned inside and out with new systems in an effort to achieve LEED certification. While being respectful of the iconic South Beach design sensibility, the exterior and interior design will celebrate nature and light. The hotel will feature 417 rooms, four swimming pools, a spa and fitness center, private beach amenities, and a variety of entertainment and dining destinations, including a new signature farm-to-table restaurant. As the first branded residential property tied to the new 1 Hotel brand, the project will also include 163 private residences ranging from one-to-four-bedrooms, as well as distinctive duplex homes. Residence owners will have access to a private lobby and arrival courtyard and concierge, as well as access to a full-range of 1 Hotel services. Sales for The 1 Residences South Beach are slated to begin in April 2013.
