Ludlow Hotel Plans Summer Opening; New Details Released

It’s been a long time coming, but the Ludlow Hotel is almost a reality. In preparation for a summer opening, the upscale property at 180 Ludlow St. is ramping up the publicity machine.

A press release landed in our in-box a short time ago with new details about the 184-room project from hoteliers Sean MacPherson, Ira Drukier, and Richard Born.  A few excerpts:

The Ludlow, within wafting distance of Katz’s Deli on the corner and strumming distance of Ludlow Guitars next door, feels born on the Lower East Side.  Elegant and comfortable, but with artful rough edges and personal quirks, the hotel conjures the area’s vivid history, from the “Gangs of New York” era to Jewish immigration to the wild art and music of the ‘80s. But it’s not just about the past.  The Ludlow is connected to today’s Lower East Side, a constantly changing crossroads of culture, style, and cuisine that’s once again Manhattan’s most pulse-quickening neighborhood…

The Ludlow comes with its own New York story.  MacPherson, Drukier, and Born rescued a derelict building that had been abandoned by its original developers after the financial crash.  The Ludlow’s solid brick façade and factory casement windows make it fit seamlessly onto its historic block…

The trip starts at the Ludlow’s red-brick entryway.  Steel and glass doors open to oak paneled-walls and marble mosaic floors.  A grand distressed-limestone fireplace dominates the lobby lounge – think Trustafarian meets Miss Havisham.

In an area long defined by its confines and tenements, The Ludlow will create an inviting public space on its ground floor.  The lobby atrium harks back to the days when downtown lofts would house happening clubs or one-off parties with indescribable mixes of creative people.  “Those spaces were magnets, and we’re hoping this one will be,” MacPherson says.  “We’d like to function as a living room for the neighborhood.”

Flooded with light, the ground-floor is cleverly designed with windows and glass walls to offer clear views from the Ludlow St. entrance straight through to the bluestone-paved back courtyard – itself a rare amenity anywhere in Manhattan.

Upstairs feels private and personal – like a New Yorker’s downtown living space – with furniture and artisan touches hand-picked by MacPherson.  Hardwood floors and handmade silk rugs complement artisan-crafted Moroccan pendant lamps and Indo-Portuguese style beds. “Tree-trunk” nightstands in petrified wood come from Brooklyn furniture temple Organic Modernism…

…Full bathrooms with rainshower heads come standard, many also offer soaking tubs.  All bathrooms boast black-and-white tilework and brass fixtures.  Heavy wooden doors help muffle noise and add to a sense of place and history.

The Ludlow offers 184 guestrooms including 20 spectacular suites in nine configurations.  Spaces will range from Full to Queen and King rooms, each with sweeping city views and many with a private terrace. A “Rockstar” suite with wraparound windows and 1,100-foot terrace, and “Skybox Loft” with designated sitting area, offers breathtaking vistas of New York’s bridges and landmarks…

East-facing rooms also offer views of Tibor Kalman’s famous “Askew” clock and the iconic “Lenin” statue outside Red Square, the striking modern apartment building around the corner on Avenue B.

As the New York Times reported last month, the hotel’s restaurant, Dirty French, will be run by Jeff Zalaznick, Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi. Drukier and Born own many high profile New York hotels, including The Greenwich Hotel and the Mercer Hotel. MacPherson is the co-owner of The Bowery Hotel, The Jane Hotel, The Maritime Hotel, The Waverly Inn, and The Lafayette House.  The Ludlow Street property had become a stalled construction site in the aftermath of the 2008 real estate crash.  BD Hotels purchased it for $25 million in 2010.