Five Ian Schrager-inspired hotels, including two in New York and London landmarks, will open by 2015Last month, Marriott International announced five new hotels for Edition, its luxury lifestyle hotel brand created in concert with hotelier Ian Schrager.
Originally announced in 2008, the rollout of the Edition brand has been slowed by the global economic downturn. When it unveiled the brand, Marriott predicted it would open as many as 100 Edition hotels in 10 years, but only two Edition hotels have been opened to date—one in Honolulu and another in Istanbul.
But now Marriott says the Edition brand is on track to have six hotels operating in major global gateway cities on three continents by 2015, including The London Edition opening later this year in the historic building formerly known as the Berners Hotel, located in the city’s Fitzrovia neighborhood.
But the crowning jewel of these new Editions will be the one located in one of New York’s landmark buildings known as the “Clock Tower” on Madison Avenue. Construction will begin later this year and the property is scheduled for a 2015 opening.
“New York is one of the most important destinations in the world, and we are delighted to have secured the Clock Tower as a singular, iconic structure that will become a flagship for the Edition brand,” says Arne Sorenson, Marriott’s President and Chief Operating Officer.
Meanwhile, Schrager says that it is “a privilege and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to work with Marriott on the first Edition in New York. “This exciting project, along with all of the current and future projects in the pipeline, will prove that Edition hotels are like no others in the world.”
Other 2015 Edition openings include the Bangkok Edition, which will be part of a mixed-use development planned, as well as the Abu Dhabi Edition, which will be part of the Al Bateen Harbor complex within the Abu Dhabi Marina, an upscale mixed-use development including luxury residential and retail.
Meanwhile, in 2013, Marriott will open an Edition hotel in Miami Beach, which is under construction in the former Seville Hotel.
In addition, Marriott announced that it and Schrager had also reached agreements for hotels in Los Angeles and Gurgaon, India, which is just outside of New Delhi, though there’s been no timetable for the opening of either of these properties.
The Edition brand, Marriott says, is a collection of customized properties designed to appeal to sophisticated business travelers accustomed to extraordinary service with a modern touch. The properties are intended to showcase the best in dining and nightlife, services and amenities for travelers and local residents.
