Boutique Design - September 2018 - 25

Ace Hotel Group ups the ante with its first brand launches beyond
its iconic lifestyle flag. Luxury NOLA outpost Maison de La Luz and
streamlined New York property Sister City clinch the argument that
even innovators can and should break out of their own boxes.
by ORiaNa LeRNeR

1 Peekaboo! The sight line
from the doorway to the
window in the upcoming
Maison de la Luz, designed by Atelier Ace and
Studio Samshiri, adds an
additional layer of visual
insulation since the bed
is mostly out of sight.

BRIAN W. FERRY (SISTER CIT Y ); JOHN MARK SORUM ( WIL SON)

Maybe it was the Portlandia parody. Much more likely, it was the point when Ace Hotel

Group's leadership realized this global influencer couldn't play the up-and-comer card any
more. Clearly, this hotel collection had matured from a quirky West Coast offer to taking its
place as a national (and international) synonym for a certain ironic, in-the-know cool. Either
way, the brand Alex Calderwood founded in 1999 has inarguably reached household word
status and has even hotel industry giants looking (enviously) over their shoulders.
There's no question that Brad Wilson, president, Ace Hotel Group, and partner, Atelier
Ace, could have gone on channeling the company's rich vein of creativity into a string of
high-profile openings under the core brand. After all, with the exception of the American
Trade Hotel in Panama, the last 19 years have seen them strengthen exactly that foundation with outposts across the U.S. and in London. But, in a market where cutting-edge
hoteliers are increasingly thinking in terms of diversification and brand families, it was
time for Wilson and his team to shake up Ace's status quo if they wanted stay on top of,
rather than in, the game. "We embrace change as a conduit for empathy. In the end, we
want to create spaces that allow people to see a city in a new way, talk to strangers and
delight in life," says Wilson.
Enter Sister City, opening this fall in New York City, and Maison de la Luz, making its
2019 debut in New Orleans. The former is what Wilson calls "an experiment in essentialism," while the latter's design "reflects the curious, eccentric and elevated experience of
a resplendent Southern guest house." Yes, they're more accessible and more luxe, respectively, than an Ace Hotel.
The real point, though, is that they represent a fundamental shift in thinking for a brand
that's been exceptionally successful staying in its comfort zone. In responding to a recent
trend: the need for a home away from home that is more peaceful than buzzy, the two new
offers show the hotelier's willingness to kick its own thinking into the next gear. Sister City,
designed by Atelier Ace, and Maison, crafted in collaboration between Atelier Ace and Studio
Samshiri (whose founder Pamela Samshiri previously worked extensively with Ace during
her tenure at Commune Design) have wildly different design means to that soothing end.
Sister City will rely on a neutral palette and natural woods, while Maison will play with richer
tones, metal accent pieces and quirkier touches (a spiral lamp base, for example).
"We don't have a blueprint that we use when designing hotels, and the same goes for
finding collaborators. We seek out like-minded people who share an affinity toward the
soulful," says Wilson. For Ace Hotel's internal team and external collaborators, big-picture
rethinks are as important as stylistic details. The two properties' F&B offers might seem to
have been switched at birth: Sister City will have both a rooftop bar and a restaurant, while
Maison will only sport a guest dining room. Both speak to the needs their respective clientele
values most highly. Calm in New York might well mean being able to spend 24 hours without
having to leave a hotel to "forage" for a chic eating or drinking spot; in New Orleans, the
existing Ace Hotel in that city means that guests only have to go across the street to find
their neighborhood dining destination.
How does Wilson plan to keep reinventing the wheel for Ace itself ? First, he's sending it
on a world tour, with a Kyoto property set to debut in 2019. Eventually, his wishlist has similar
globetrotting ambitions for the two recent launches. "We're dreaming of Copenhagen, Paris,
Los Angeles and Tokyo for Sister City and Maison," says Wilson. Big plans, indeed. 

BRAD WILSON
ACE HOTEL GROUP | ATELIER ACE

2 Sister City pegs out
its territory in the new
wave of minimalistinclined urban hotels.
Careful attention to
finishes means spacesaving touches such as
the coatrack become
focal points.

September 2018 boutiquedesign.com

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Boutique Design - September 2018

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