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Starwood Capital Group’s Baccarat Hotels and Resorts has announced plans for a 115-room hotel and 64 luxury residences opposite Manhattan’s Museum of Modern Art.
The hotel element of the $403 million development is predicted to charge in excess of US$800 a night and will look to capitalize on the image of Baccarat Crystal, the French manufacturer of fine glassware that Starwood acquired in 2005, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
The hotel will feature Baccarat chandeliers, a boutique store selling crystal with price tags up to $10,000, and crystal museum pieces in the lobby.
“We’re going to marry Louis XV with the modern era,” said Barry Sternlicht (pictured), Starwood Capital’s chief executive officer and chairman of Baccarat. “We will be catering to high-end couples and business travelers who may be shopping on Fifth Avenue.”
Sternlicht said Starwood and its partners are putting up to $161 million of equity into the project.
The first Baccarat is expected to open in Rabat, Morocco, in 2014, shortly before the Manhattan hotel. Starwood has deals to license or operate Baccarat hotels under development by third parties at several sites in China, one in Dubai and some in Japan. The Manhattan hotel will be Baccarat’s flagship.
“I think our price points, our design and our heritage really will appeal well to the Asian customer,” said Sternlicht.
www.baccarathotels.com
25/04/12
