Nadine Kam
The Waikiki Edition's Private Sunset Beach and Bar is surrounded by white sand, with lounge chairs sitting in its shallow water.
I hate to play the part of the fangirl. It's so high school. but I couldn't help it on Friday when I went to a press conference for the grand opening of the Waikiki Edition. It was an opportunity to listen to renowned hotelier Ian Schrager speak about the project which he conceived in partnership with Marriott International.
The new hotel, the first introducing the new boutique Edition brand with aims set on destinations around the globe—the next will open next year in Istanbul—is spectacular and something Hawaii can be proud of. Many who have set foot on the premises said it has set a new standard for Waikiki.
I'm been fascinated by Schrager for a long time because of his larger-than-life story, starting with co-founding New York's Studio 54 with his late partner Steve Rubell, followed by some jail time and reinventing himself as a hotelier. I never imagined I would ever get to be in the same room as the legend! Schrager's been credited as the creator of the boutique hotel concept, having injected an arty, hip vibe to what was once a stodgy experience for low- to mid-budget travelers. When he teamed with designer Phillipe Starck years ago, I decided I had to stay at one of his properties.
Whenever I go to New York, I always stay at a couple of hotels, moving around to different areas of the city to experience the various neighborhoods. So once, I booked just a night at the Paramount. It was an experience. Yes, the room was stylish, but it was also tiny. The things I remember most were climbing over the bed to get to the bathroom, and not being able to open the closet door to store my suitcase because the bed was blocking the way! It was kind of funny. The bed was one of the most comfortable I'd ever slept in. If only the room fit it!
I was glad that for most of that stay, I had been staying in a one-bedroom suite in Nolita. But hey, I got to stay at an Ian Schrager property, and now Hawaii's got one of its own. I checked out the rooms here, and they were normal size. Hallelujah.
If I had been thinking about the big weekend that included The Waikiki Edition's grand opening Oct. 15, a private book signing party for Lauren Dylan of Dylan's Candy Store on Oct. 16, and the grand opening party for Morimoto Waikiki on the 17th (this will be posted at my Take A Bite blog in the next few days), I would have booked a room, which were starting at $195 for bookings by the 15th, but are now set at $375 for a city view, to $9,995 for the penthouse.
Ian Schrager, right, and Arne M. Sorenson, President and Chief Operating Officer, Marriott International, Inc., at a press conference for the grand opening of The Waikiki Edition Oct. 15.
The Marriott Group was particularly interested in Schrager's work on the Gramercy Park Hotel when they approached him. At the press conference, Schrager took all questions, including one about all the secrecy surrounding the opening of the property.
He said "It's a little like opening a Broadway show or a movie." The aim is to build buzz and curiosity, he said, adding, "I don't consider myself to be in the hotel business, but show business."
The design of the property was "not pulled out of a catalog," he said, because the aim was to create something new. Neither did he worry about the economy, saying he's always had the attitude of "build it and people will come," adding that he's never had a good location to work with. And rather than try to keep up with the one-upmanship in design and other hotel concepts, he's tried to consider the ways people experience a property and deliver a combination of provacative design, humanized spaces and exceptional service.
Someone asked Schrager about his clientele demographic, but he said the appeal of the Edition properties—each unique to their city and culture—will be more psychographic, in that the properties will appeal to an aesthetic and sensibility, rather than to a particular age or income group.
"People respond to what they like, and that's always been our customer," he said, expecting to attract anyone from age 16 up. He's 64, and has based his creation on many of the things he likes, including the surfboard art that caught his eye at a gallery show when he wasn't even thinking about work.
The Sunrise Pool and Bar, surrounded by a wood deck, was the epicenter of Friday night's grand opening party. Looking at it by day, it didn't seem big enough, but once the lounge chairs were removed, there was plenty of space for the evening's mix of Hollywood celebrities (Christina Aguilera, Vanessa Hudgens, Luis Guzmán, and more), and scenesters from Hawaii's fashion, film and restaurant communities.
At the New Edition grand opening party later that evening were, from left, Marissa Nagai, James Schaefer and Sawako Hayashi, all from Harry Winston.
Pork was on the menu at the grand opening party.
The grand opening party set a new standard for local parties, with Veuve Clicquot champagne flowing for at least three hours, plenty of food including snapper laulau, roast pork and a mini clam bake, and the presence of many a celebrity. I went walking around to find Vanessa Hudgens and Christina Aguilera, and Fighting Eel/Tee Tee Bar's Lan Chung and Reva Yahya pointed out a very platinum Christina out to me, sitting on one of the lounge futons with some of her friends. They were surrounded by four security personnel, and while I was tempted to ask for a photo, I decided not to interrupt her privacy.
I was glad I didn't when I learned one local designer tried to give the singer one of her handbags and was shooed away by the security guards. I had second thoughts again when I heard one local papparazzo had made $66,000 selling a photo of Johnny Depp in the islands to some magazine. Hmm, a recently divorced Christina Aguilera would be worth a lot more, and who couldn't use an extra $66,000-plus?
General manager Michael Rock shows a ukulele that is part of every room's decor.
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