Starwood Capital Group Chairman and CEO Barry Sternlicht has announced the launch of the new mission-driven luxury lifestyle brand 1 Hotels. The first property has debuted in South Beach Florida, to be followed by Central Park in late spring and Brooklyn Bridge Park at the end of 2015. 1 Hotels aims to change industry standards—more than a hospitality brand, from no paper or plastic in the guest rooms to nature as art and lobby farmstands, 1 Hotels is a movement with a mindful purpose.
1 Hotels celebrates nature while encouraging sophisticated travelers to live well, do better, and connect with the world around them. Each hotel in the portfolio is consciously designed in collaboration with eco-friendly architects and craftsmen, and each property features high-design with low-impact, reclaimed and natural materials wherever possible. The architecture, landscaping and decor all showcase the art in nature, creating thriving spaces and inspiring rooms that bring the beauty of the outdoors in.
“It’s simple. We have an impact on nature and nature has an impact on us. I decided that if I was ever going to create another hotel, I wanted it to be more than a brand; I wanted it to be a cause. People are already living like this and are now looking for ways to travel in the same fashion,” said Barry Sternlicht, Chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital Group, the parent of SH Group, a lifestyle hotel brand management company who will manage the hotels. “At first, our guests may simply notice the graceful twist of driftwood in the furnishings. However, what we are really offering is an evolution of the entire hotel experience, one that is more natural in regards to the way we arrive, sleep, eat, relax and do. By focusing on simple changes that make life better, we will encourage guests to stop, recalibrate and hopefully gain some inspiration from the small steps we have taken to protect nature at each property.”
Living greens
In a celebration of nature and the locales surrounding the properties, 1 Hotels brings the outside in with living greenery throughout the guest experience, from the instant they approach a 1 Hotel until the moment they enter their room. At 1 Hotel & Homes South Beach, guests will be welcomed with 3,000 feet of living wall wrapped-around its exterior with 11,000 local tropical plant varieties and playful art as nature pieces such as interactive hanging terrariums, a plant laboratory from local Miami artisans Plant the Future. At Central Park, guests will see a three-story living wall of English Ivy on the building’s exterior and be greeted by hanging kokedamas in the lobby with terrariums and indoor window planters in guestrooms from Brooklyn-based Sprout Home.
Shared vision on sustainability
For interiors and landscaping, 1 Hotels has collaborated with architects and designers who share the brand’s vision on sustainability. At 1 Hotel & Homes South Beach, boutique design Meyer Davis Studio transforms a iconic Miami building on 600 feet of pristine oceanfront into a visionary statement of design inspired by nature and Nikola Gradisinki of NGNY revamped the property’s celebrated rooftop. AvroKo Hospitality and landscape designer Harrison Green bring 1 Hotel Central Park to life through the raw beauty and imperfections of natural materials. The architectural firm Incorporated is working together with landscape designer Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates to realize 1 Hotels goals from the ground up at the 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge Park site.
Low impact on environment
Considering guests’ wellbeing in everything it does, 1 Hotels mindfully creates a healthy, service-focused environment. The daily operation of the hotels has been carefully orchestrated to minimize its footprint by leveraging local resources, conserving non-renewable resources, mitigating paper consumption and reducing landfill waste.
Materials for construction and furnishings are regional, reclaimed, or repurposed, whenever possible. This includes saving Colorado beetle kill pine to create headboards at 1 Hotel & Homes South Beach and Ipe wood from the property’s original boardwalk to cover the redesigned pool deck; redwood staves from NYC water tanks used on the facade of 1 Hotel Central Park and hewn beams and timbers from local New York barns and factories in guestrooms.
Both the South Beach and Central Park properties were designed from existing buildings that were overhauled to adhere to the brand’s standards for less consumption and more conservation. Every aspect of the properties have been updated, such as: installing state-of-the-art, energy efficient heating and cooling systems; installing motion sensors; using LED illumination to reduce electrical demands and heat build-up from lighting; using low V.O.C paints, adhesives, sealants and finishes; installing Triple Clear Water filters in all taps, sinks, and showers; using low-flow plumbing fixtures to conserve water; and using eco-friendly Ipura dry cleaning machine and detergent-free Zum Clean aromatherapy eucalyptus laundry soap.
Rooms and amenities
Guestrooms and suites at every 1 Hotel feature custom hemp-blend Keetsa mattresses topped with soft, fluffy, hypoallergenic 100% organic linens; custom-created 1 Hotels bath and body products with crisp, fresh scents of nature; soft socks in lieu of slippers to provide a touch of home; hangers made from recycled paper; yoga mats for guests to achieve zen at their own leisure; and natural stones engraved ‘not now’ to place outside the door to replace the traditional ‘do not disturb’ door hanger.
At 1 Hotel & Homes South Beach, where the 426 rooms average 700 square feet—the largest on South Beach—King sized beds built on reclaimed white oak platforms will be the norm with wrap-around daybed couches, bedside chalkboards for notes, and complimentary reusable recycled water glasses to use with the Triple Clear Water in-room water tap.
Signature brand amenities available at each property include: Tesla premium electric car service for guest transportation within a pre-set radius, complimentary bicycle valet, complimentary parking for guests who bring their own electric vehicles, complimentary wi-fi, and digital newspapers on an in-room device.
Focus on ingredients
1 Hotels’ approach to food is ingredients first, from the full dining experience at on-site signature restaurants and in-room dining to freshly sourced snacks created daily for guests. The brand has partnered with celebrated chefs united by a common focus on ingredients, seasonality and responsible sourcing from local purveyors. Each chef will showcase his signature culinary sensibilities in individual, distinct spaces.
Chef Tom Colicchio will oversee three food and beverage programs and in-room dining at 1 Hotel & Homes South Beach, including Beachcraft, which will highlight Florida’s best fisherman and farmers; the lobby bar playfully called Tom on Collins and the poolside restaurant and bar The Sand Box. In May 2015, the property will introduce 1 Kitchen: Organic Food And Juice Bar by Spring Cafe. The restaurant will promote health, wellness and sustainability through inventive delicious plant-based cuisine, inspired by the vision of Aspen’s 100% organic Spring Cafe. 1 Kitchen will offer seasonal and locally sourced dishes cooked with organic cold pressed oils, sea salt and fresh herbs; fresh and cold pressed juices; and sweets using only spelt, almond and oat flours.
At 1 Hotel Central Park Chef Jonathan Waxman will bring his lauded JAMS restaurant back to life, highlighting the California cuisine movement he launched in New York with the best purveyors from and around the city. Later in 2015, Chef Seamus Mullen will open his first Brooklyn restaurant at 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Embrace the location
1 Hotels aims to fill guests’ waking hours with happy, healthy and more meaningful experiences. The brand has curated “Daylife” activities and a collection of rituals designed to cultivate positive connections with nature, the community, and the local environment. Furthermore, each property will arrange activities that will afford guests the opportunity to fully embrace the location. For example, at 1 Hotel & Homes South Beach, guests will be able to kayak through the mangroves in Oleta State Park, learn paddleboard yoga, or be provided with suggested bicycle routes around historic Art Deco South Beach. Coming in late 2015, South Beach guests will enjoy a state-of-the-art 18,000-square-foot fitness center and spa.
Offerings available at each 1 Hotels include:
- Lobby Farmstand: Guests will enjoy a daily offering of freshly sourced items from the hotel’s signature restaurant and once a month a farmstand in the lobby will feature local farmers and purveyors presenting their goods for purchase by guests and the community.
- Dark Sky: Each month the lights will dim for a candlelit evening in public spaces, with specially crafted cocktails and a series of activities, allowing guests to unplug for a few hours.
- Star Gazing: Either on property or with local partners, guests will be treated to stargazing opportunities with telescopes or sky maps. At times, guests may also learn their horoscopes from notable astrologers.
- Well Seasoned: As the seasons change, 1 Hotels’ rituals will follow suit with lobby events to mark the present moment, such as gatherings to usher in the new moon or solstice.
- Do-Gooder: Local non-profit partners will offer volunteer experiences for guests to contribute to sustaining the environment, from planting a tree to cleaning a beach.
Technology used to connect and communicate
Through a variety of digital resources, 1 Hotels seeks to maximize technology to help guests simplify, streamline, personalize and control their stay, while at the same time using less paper and energy. 1 Hotels developed industry-first technology that encourages constant, real-time communication–that means no more phones in rooms, no more remote controls, no more reams of paper, just a simple, instant, brand-new way to connect. Before arrival, an intuitive shopping experience will enable guests to curate all aspects of their visit. And during their stay, whatever they desire will be only a click away.
The guest journey begins virtually on the brand website, 1Hotels.com. Designed with an editorial look and feel, the highly-visual, tablet-friendly site offers an interactive tile layout that defies traditional hotel booking channels by offering the first uniquely designed e-commerce-style website. The brand developed its own booking engine that allows guests to browse locations, offers and services; book guestrooms and add exclusive location-specific experiences to their shopping cart to build their perfect stay.
As part of the brand’s commitment to rethinking the traditional hotel model, 1 Hotels has developed a mobile app that will serve as equal parts reservation system, service platform and in-hotel guest communication tool. The app will be the hub for pre-arrival experiences, permitting guests to seamlessly integrate their hotel stay and personalize preferences prior to checking-in while also being able to request services on-site through their in-room Nexus device. Guests may set room preferences remotely; the app remembers guests’ settings from one stay to the next. Climate control, housekeeping, restaurant reservations, every comfort and more are within easy reach.
Sense of place
1 Hotel & Homes South Beach, 25°47’59” N 80°7’37” W
Occupying an entire city blocks on Collins Avenue from 23rd to 24th streets, 1 Hotel & Homes South Beach sits directly on 600 feet of beachfront [2341 Collins Avenue]. The property offers views of the Atlantic Ocean, Miami’s nature paradise Biscayne Bay and Downtown Miami’s ever-expanding skyline. Throughout the 426-room hotel, which was designed by the Meyer Davis Studio, the celebration of nature is evident, from the graceful twist of driftwood furnishings to the ever-present sounds of the ocean and abundance of living, natural material. The property features four swimming pools, including a 112-foot long rooftop pool as part of the 26,000-square-foot rooftop ultra-lounge; three outlets from James Beard Award-winning Chef Tom Colicchio making his Miami debut, including the signature Beachcraft that will offer a menu that showcases South Florida’s local farms and fishermen; 57 cabanas and daybeds; an 18,000-square-foot spa, wellness and fitness center, set to open late 2015; over 100,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space; and 155 branded residences in collaboration with LeFrak.
1 Hotel Central Park, 40°45’53” N, 73°58’35” W
A natural sanctuary in the middle of Manhattan, 1 Hotel Central Park [1414 Avenue of the Americas] stands one block south of Central Park at the corner of 58th Street and Sixth Avenue. Set in an 18-story building, the hotel offers 229 guest rooms and suites; JAMS, a 116-seat restaurant and bar from Chef Jonathan Waxman; communal work/meeting/private dining space; a 24-hour fitness center; and a three-story exterior living green wall, among additional features. With interior designs by AvroKo Hospitality, 1 Hotel Central Park brings the outside in with source origin materials including woods, bricks, marble, stone and glass from local building-material suppliers while highlighting the building’s existing architecture when possible, such as through its riveted steel beams or concrete ceilings. Window seats in guestrooms have been created to allow guests to perch above Manhattan streets, creating cozy corners for reading and daydreaming. Landscape design by Damien Harrison’s Harrison Green creates a lush living wall along the building’s exterior as well as thoughtfully placed planters before each guestroom entrance.
