The promotional push is underway for the new Joie de Vivre Hotel at 50 Bowery. Owners of the 229-room property unveiled new details today ahead of its debut in Chinatown this coming winter.
The opening will be a fulfillment of a multi-generational vision by the Chu family, which has owned 50 Bowery for many decades. The 22-story project is a collaboration with San Francisco-based Commune Hotel & Resorts. Joie de Vivre is the large hospitality firm’s boutique brand.
Some of the main points from a press release making the rounds today:
–The Chinatown hotel is being positioned as a “gateway location” to other downtown neighborhoods but also, in the words of Commune’s CEO, “a vivid expression of this dynamic community and its rich history.”
–Guest rooms will feature art from Lowell Boyers, Simone Shubuck and André Saraiva.
–Hotel management is not shying away from accentuating the property’s unique history. In 2013, preservationists were up in arms over suspicions that parts of the 18th Century Bull’s Head Tavern lay beneath the construction site. The press release explains:
(The hotel’s) ties to the Chinatown community are… showcased with The Gallery, a permanent exhibit from the Museum of Chinese in America, complete with resident curator, Herb Tam, who works for the museum. A partnership facilitated by hotel ownership, the exhibit pays homage to the destination’s past and will showcase many of the artifacts that were found on the hotel’s construction site, highlighting its colorful history – taverns, a gambling den, and vaudeville and motion picture theaters all called the hotel’s location “home” from the 1700s through the early 1900s. The exhibit is adjacent to a 5,000-square-feet outdoor space, the Atlantic Garden, named after the historic beer hall that occupied the site in the 1850s. The hotel will also offer 1,900 square feet of indoor function space, perfect for intimate events catered by Chef Dale Talde. The Gallery, Boardroom and five unique suites feature natural light, city views and modern furnishings for meetings and events.
–Wimberly Interiors is designing the hotel. The lobby features “poured concrete and exposed brick,” along with “Asian-influenced furniture.” Hallways “reflect an old Chinese village at night with large, bold artwork from Beijing-based graffiti artist Dake Wong.”
—As previously reported, celebrity chef Dale Talde is running three restaurants/bars within the hotel. They include a 220-seat, contemporary Asian restaurant in the lobby called Rice & Gold; Goldie’s, a basement lounge serving dim-sum-inspired snacks “with live entertainment inspired by its opium-den theme;” and an outdoor bar on the 21st floor.
You can read our previous coverage of the hotel at 50 Bowery here.
