New Yorkers love to be the first people to check out a new venue, so Conde Nast Traveler's Hot List party got some instant cache by nesting in Chelsea's not-quite-finished Maritime Hotel. Traveler director of special projects Mark Testa ran the event, which has promoted the mag's annual special issue in a hotel on the list for the past two years. "Every year we look in the magazine for what's new in New York," Testa said, but this year the list had no new local hotels. But after asking around, he found that the Maritime would be available.
After walking through a well-branded entrance, guests got to check out some displays set up by advertisers and the hotel's still-unnamed Japanese restaurant. Scheduled to open in mid-June, the large room has a beautiful barrel-vaulted ceiling that looks kind of like the undersides of two flipped boats. (As early as it was, this still wasn't the first event in the space; Marc Jacobs held a fragrance launch there last September. You have to be quick in this town.)
Designed and developed by Eric Goode and Sean MacPherson, the 120-room hotel will open for guests on May 8 in a building originally built in 1966 as headquarters for the Maritime Union and notable for its five-foot porthole windows. A second restaurant, a Mediterranean cafe, is still being built on the plaza in front of the building and is supposed to open in mid-June.
Aside from the venue sneak-peek, this was a fairly straightforward cocktail party. The hors d'oeuvres were catered by Goode and MacPherson's nearby restaurant, the Park. (Having a party catered by the Park is something like reading Playboy in braille: The whole point—for the Park, it's the crowd and the decor, not the food—gets lost.)
—Chad Kaydo
Read about the gift bag from last year's event...
Read our coverage of the 2001 Hot List party...
After walking through a well-branded entrance, guests got to check out some displays set up by advertisers and the hotel's still-unnamed Japanese restaurant. Scheduled to open in mid-June, the large room has a beautiful barrel-vaulted ceiling that looks kind of like the undersides of two flipped boats. (As early as it was, this still wasn't the first event in the space; Marc Jacobs held a fragrance launch there last September. You have to be quick in this town.)
Designed and developed by Eric Goode and Sean MacPherson, the 120-room hotel will open for guests on May 8 in a building originally built in 1966 as headquarters for the Maritime Union and notable for its five-foot porthole windows. A second restaurant, a Mediterranean cafe, is still being built on the plaza in front of the building and is supposed to open in mid-June.
Aside from the venue sneak-peek, this was a fairly straightforward cocktail party. The hors d'oeuvres were catered by Goode and MacPherson's nearby restaurant, the Park. (Having a party catered by the Park is something like reading Playboy in braille: The whole point—for the Park, it's the crowd and the decor, not the food—gets lost.)
—Chad Kaydo
Read about the gift bag from last year's event...
Read our coverage of the 2001 Hot List party...
Conde Nast Traveler designed a well-branded entrance for a party promoting its annual Hot List issue at the not-quite-finished Maritime Hotel.
The hotel's still-unnamed Japanese restaurant is decorated with giant Chinese paper lanterns and served as the event's main space.
The party's invitation had hot pink type on reflective silver cardstock—perfect for checking your hair in the cab on the way there—and photos from the magazine.
The silver gift bag matched the invitation.
