Thursday, June 9, 2011

Mondrian Los Angeles

A few months ago I went on a little vaca to visit some friends and family in LA.  While most of this time I stayed with my sweet sister-in-law, I did treat myself to a few nights at the Mondrian hotel.  The Mondrian hotel was started by Ian Schrager.  I took a ton of photos because the grounds as well as the rooms were spectacular!  Enjoy!
 
 
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"Ian Schrager (born on July 19, 1946) is an American hotelier and real estate developer. Often associated with co-creating of the Boutique Hotel genre. Originally, he gained fame as co-owner and co-founder of Studio 54.
 Schrager first became known for creating the New York nightclub Studio 54 with his partner, Steve Rubell. Such celebrities as Liza Minnelli, Andy Warhol, Mick Jagger, his wife Bianca Jagger and Truman Capote were Studio 54 regulars. The club closed when the pair were charged with income tax evasion and obstruction of justice, and then sentenced to three and a half years in jail. As partner Jack Dushey had given information against them, Rubell and Schrager themselves cooperated with authorities in naming other club owners who were skimming cash and their sentences were reduced to 20 months. Still a valuable property, Studio 54 was sold for $2.2 million in 1981.

Schrager and Rubell dabbled in nightclubs again by opening Palladium, but were unable to obtain a liquor license, so they set their sights on the hotel business.
They were able to purchase the Executive Hotel for the money they had, $60,000, and due to unusual terms, were able to use the hotel itself as collateral Reopening it as the Morgans Hotel, in 1984. (Morgans houses the highly successful restaurant Asia de Cuba by NY restaurateur Jeffrey Chodorow.)
With their success of Morgans, they opened the successful Century Paramont Hotel, as well as acquiring and renovating the Royalton.
 
Schrager started the Morgans Hotel Group (aka Ian Schrager Hotels) and opened the Royalton Hotel and the Hudson Hotel, in New York City, the Delano Hotel, in Miami, and the Sanderson Hotel and the St. Martin's Lane Hotel, in London, the Clift, in San Francisco, and the Mondrian Hotel, in Los Angeles.
By 1998, Schrager was the largest private hotelier in New York."  
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Schrager
 
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 Inside my room!
 
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A view of the bed area

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The most amazing TV I have ever seen - it is a LARGE mirror until you turn it on!  

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My view from the pool

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"In 1984, Morgans Hotel Group developed its first property, Morgans on Madison Avenue in New York City. An instant hit, the hotel revolutionized the hospitality industry with the introduction of the “Boutique Hotel” concept, characterized by personalized service and home-away-from-home ambiance in a setting of timeless elegance. This boutique concept was again showcased with great success at New York’s Royalton, in 2007, when the first property designed by Philippe Starck was re-imagined by Roman and Williams.

Morgans Hotel Group came to Los Angeles in 1996, with the opening of Mondrian, located on the world-famous Sunset Boulevard. Mondrian represents the consummate expression of a balancing act between apparent contradictions – entertainment and spirituality, cutting-edge style and simplicity, fantasy and reality. The hotel perfectly captures the quintessential California lifestyle by uniting its deeply rooted appreciation of the outdoors and relaxed, casual living with a pervasive sense of magic, glamour and excitement.  Skybar, boasting some of the finest views of Los Angeles, has been the spot for the hottest nightlife from the day it opened.  Perched above the Pool and Outdoor Living Room, Skybar appears to almost float in the clouds, with an open-air hut that sparkles with custom-designed, handmade furniture.  With its innovative fusion menu, Asia de Cuba provides diners with the option of eating either indoors with its chic white-on-white interior, or on the sensuous patio, which includes a stunning trellised area comprised of enormously over-scaled terra cotta pots.  The recently renovated agua spa is a Los Angeles urban sanctuary – a refuge from the hurried pace of modern life.  In 2008, Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz rejuvenated Mondrian into a wonderland that invites the imagination down the proverbial rabbit hole." mondrianhotel.com

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