I finally made it over to the Hotel Hugo, the new 18-story property on Greenwich, just north of Spring. That’s kind of a no-man’s land, in a way that I personally find really appealing. (The hotel website says it’s in “white-hot Hudson Square,” while the do-not-disturb signs say it’s in Soho.) Having not toured a new hotel in a while, I got flashbacks from my travel-editor days. Speaking of which: I wrote two columns on travel etiquette—here and here—for Yahoo’s new travel “magazine,” if you’re curious.

The Hugo is neither part of a chain (yet?) or a collection of hotels marketed together (yet?). The developers are Fortuna Realty Group and Matthew Moinian, the son of Joseph Moinian, whose Moinian Group is responsible for the W Hotel on Washington Street.

The first thing you’ll notice, perhaps after the gold-tinged windows, is the Italian restaurant, Il Principe, which has a very attractive terrace in front of the hotel—it’s not on the sidewalk, but tucked into the setback area. The restaurant looks like somewhere I’d like to get to know better, and I will, but we’ll have to wait for that report.

The hotel lobby is down a corridor, with the front desk in front of a garden wall. The lobby decor is a mix of high-end polish (Italian marble insets in the floor, lacquered walnut paneling) and the industrial (poured concrete floors, raw concrete walls here and there). In the 122 rooms, or at least the one double room I saw, the emphasis there is more on the polish: The effect is somewhat nautical, partly because the rooms are small (not for New York, but in general) and partly because of the gleaming wood. The room, on the seventh floor, had a slice of the Hudson visible through the window; I’m sure that only grows as you ascend.

On the 18th floor will be the Bar Hugo, expected to open soon, possibly by the end of the month. I was told I couldn’t shoot it yet, so there are no photos here. According to Community Board 2 records, it’s 1,868 square feet and it will have “a retractable façade/windows on the East and West exposures […] but the applicant agreed to close the façade completely by 9 p.m. every evening to address the quality of life concerns.”

The hotel is said to aim to for an Italian vibe, which I’m not sure I felt, but maybe I haven’t been to Italy enough lately. (That’s a hint.) The staff will even hook up guests with Vespas to tootle around the city for the day. Published rates, by the way, start at $399.

Note: I’ve added the Hugo to the Tribeca Visitor’s Guide.

Hotel Hugo is at 525 Greenwich St., 212-608-4848; hotelhugony.com.

Recent New Kid on the Block/First Impressions articles:
• El Vez
• Racines NY
• Juice Press
• Daruma-Ya
• By Suzette
• The Live Well Company
• Gilded Age
• Caviarteria
• Gurhan Atelier
• Urban Outfitters
• Cafe Boca Ciega
• The Bullett Shop

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