Know Your Hoteliers, Part 1: Ian Schrager

You may think you know an Ian Schrager hotel when you see one -- the preposterously hot bar scene, Alice-in-Wonderland decor by Philippe Starck or Andreé Putman, coffin-sized rooms -- but that Schrager is long gone. The post-9/11 travel crash nearly dragged his empire under, and forced him to sell off the Paramount to the Hard Rock Hotel group. What's left isn't exactly inspiring: the Delano in Miami is fine, albeit just one of the pack now; the Sanderson and the St. Martins Lane soldier on in London; but the Mondrian and Skybar in LA are a cliché, and the Hudson in New York -- his most recent there -- has become a haven for fanny-pack toting tourists attracted by the apocryphal $99-per-night rooms. The place even advertises itself as kid-friendly now. Once upon a time, that would have referred to the hiring criteria for the model-worthy waitstaff.

We miss the Library Bar terribly, but if you really need to stick close to Time Warner Center while staying in Manhattan, then just cross the street already and check in at the Mandarin Oriental.

Ian Schrager Hotels
Searching for lost youth, Dad books Hudson for family of four [Hotel Chatter]
Mandarin Oriental Hotel