celebrity hotels

Richard Gere's New Gig As Hotel Ambassador

We already knew that Richard Gere was in the hotel business. He and his wife Carey Lowell are the owners and proprietors of the charming Bedford Post Inn, a retreat about an hour north of New York City. The inn was recently named as a new member of the Relais & Châteaux hotel association and Gere is taking on an additional role; he has been named the 2011 ambassador of Relais & Châteaux.

As my colleague Jared Paul Stern recently pointed out, The Bedford Post Inn is an eight-room luxury inn featuring marble baths, fireplaces and Frette linens, two restaurants and a yoga studio. Gere and wife Carey Lowell recently hired Jeremy MacMillan, formerly of A Voce Columbus and A Voce Madison in Manhattan, as the new chef at the Inn, where he will emphasize high-quality seasonal local ingredients at both its restaurants. Rates at the hotel range from $295 per night for a basic bed and breakfast experience to $630 per night for the Inn's King Deluxe room with a terrace, breakfast at The Barn, the Chef's Tasting Menu at the Farmhouse and a yoga class for two guests.

The Bedford Post is one of 36 new members that were approved this year, bringing the membership of the organization to more than 500 hotels and restaurants in nearly 60 countries. The 2011 Guide includes six new destinations: Vanuatu, Estonia, Laos, Sri Lanka, Chile and Hong Kong. Properties have an average of 30 rooms and are often family enterprises. It's no easy job. As Gere put it: "In my long career, I've played many challenging and demanding characters, but believe me, none more so than my real life role as innkeeper."

Gallery: Bedford Post Inn

Tags: bedford post inn, celebrity hotels, celebrity innkeepers, Relais Chateaux, RelaisChateaux, richard gere

Val Kilmer Wins Right To Turn Pecos River Ranch Into A Bed and Breakfast

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

A couple of days ago we wrote about Val Kilmer's fight to get his Pecos River Ranch in New Mexico approved as a bed and breakfast, now it seems an apology has turned the tide. His neighbors originally fought the proposal because of some unfavorable comments he made about life in New Mexico including a quote in Rolling Stone magazine about how he lived in "the homicide capital of the Southwest." Not exactly a ringing endorsement for a place that Kilmer wants to draw tourists to even though Kilmer has said he was misquoted.

The San Miguel County Commission has suggested to Kilmer that he step forward and set the record straight and that's what he did showing up at the hearing on June 23. He presented his case to the crowd, explaining that he loves his home in New Mexico. After a mea culpa in which Kilmer said he understood why people were so upset, New Mexico's San Miguel County decided the nearly 6,000 acre Pecos River Ranch can operate as a bed-and-breakfast retreat.

The ranch is located approximately 22 miles northeast of Santa Fe and has ample wildlife and a trail system that snakes throughout the property. It is located along a seven-mile stretch of the Pecos River which offers great opportunities for fishing. Last year in a video interview with KOB-TV Kilmer said that when he put the ranch up for sale he was not planning to leave the state. Kilmer said that he only listed the whole ranch to "try and attract a business partner for an idea I have about a sustainable, off-the-grid community." Back in 2006 he had also offered an 1,800 acre parcel of the ranch for $18 million. Earlier this year the Pecos River Ranch website listed one-bedroom casitas renting at $200 per night.

Kilmer joins a long line of celebrity hotel and inn owners including Richard Gere, Francis Ford Coppola, Robert DeNiro and Robert Redford.

Gallery: Val Kilmer's Pecos River Ranch

Tags: celebrity hotels, pecos river ranch, val kilmer

Emmit Smith Plans Harlem Hotel

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Sports, Real Estate Developments, Celebrity Design

Emmitt Smith is the marquee name among a group of investors aiming to build a hotel at the corner of Lenox Ave and 125th Street in Harlem. For a portion of the $80 million cost to finance the project they went to the New York City Capital Resource Corporation, run by Mayor Bloomberg. The NYCCRC had $120 million provided by the federal government in order to seed economic development in certain neighborhoods.

Emmitt's group requested $19.5 million, which was all that remains of the original $120 million. This week they were told they have been provisionally awarded the sum pending a full board vote, but with one serious condition: they must begin construction by the end of this year.

There have been many attempts and many promises made when it comes to revitalizing Harlem, and most have remained nothing more than attempts and promises. Assuming the investment group can source the remaining funds, it is said that the hotel will be a Hyatt, joined by retail and cultural establishments such as Whole Foods and a YMCA.

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Tags: celebrity hotels, emmitt smith, harlem, hyatt hotel, new york, new york city, real estate