Gansevoort Park Avenue NYC: Trendy and Hip

by Bobbie Leigh (RSS feed)
Aug 13th 2010 at 10:01AM

Last week, Michael Achenbaum in ripped jeans and an open shirt led a group of journalists around his newest hotel,
Gansevoort Park Avenue NYC at the corner of Park Ave and 29th Street. "This is downtown vibe meets uptown chic," he says while standing in the hotel's three-story atrium lobby. Unlike anything you have seen, it is dominated by three huge aubergine chandeliers, herringbone granite floors, white patent and houndstooth upholstered chairs plus a fireplace. "Four years of my life went into this," says Achenbaum, obviously pleased with the "young and hip" vibe he hopes will recreate the success of his first New York hotel, Gansevoort Meatpacking NYC, on the corner of Ninth Avenue and 13th Street. What guaranteed that hotel's splashy success is a rooftop pool, Plunge Bar and lounge popular with the drinks-after-work crowd.

The G Park Avenue has an even more impressive pool, 16 X 49 feet, heated in winter so you can swim, drink, listen to music, and eat under starry skies throughout the year. This is a hotel made for crowds who want to linger and soak in the atmosphere, not just at the pool. They can hang out and enjoy three different levels of roof-top bars where the sound equipment from Infinite Audio Systems is more state-of-the-art than you will probably find in any other hotel in the city.

Glam photos by Deborah Anderson are in the hallways, rooms, bars, lounges, and even on table tops. One knockout image of two great looking women swimmers under water, lips entwined, adorns the Main Bar. Like all of Anderson's photos throughout the hotel, they are quirky, intriguing, and what could be called "soft-sexy." In the works and due to open in the fall are Asellina, the hotel's Italian restaurant, an Exhale spa where guests will receive preferential pricing, and a Cutler salon for both men and women. Keep an eye on this midtown corridor between Madison Square and Gramercy Park. It already has a number of new trendy hotels--the Eventi, the Carlton, Roger, and Ace---all worth a look, but only the new G has complimentary use of a chauffeur-driven Porsche. Rates start at $395; www.gansevoortpark.com; 212-317-2900.