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Prominent chef Charlie Palmer recently unveiled a new San Francisco hotel , and that ’ s just the beginning .
By Ann Bagel Storck , managing editor
Chef Charlie Palmer hopes to add another two or three hotels to his current two-hotel portfolio over the next five years .
Bill Milne
Chef Charlie Palmer is best known for his restaurants — Aureole in New York City and Las Vegas and Charlie Palmer at the Joule in Dallas , to name just a few — but he wants to his expand his presence in the hotel industry . A partner in Hotel Healdsburg in Healdsburg , California , since 2001 , Palmer recently purchased San Francisco ’ s former Crescent Hotel with San Franciscobased City-Core Development and rebranded it as the Mystic Hotel . After investing approximately US $ 4 million in the 80-room property , Palmer says the hotel is performing well , posting
The Burritt Tavern is the new restaurant at the Mystic Hotel .
Aubrie Pick
83 % occupancy even during its transition to the Mystic .
HOTELS recently spoke with Palmer about his plans for the Mystic , his stalled hotel project in Las Vegas and his future in the hotel industry .
HOTELS : I ’ ve read the Mystic was planned as a “ chef-driven boutique hotel .” Can you explain ?
Charlie Palmer : The hotel and the restaurant ( the Burritt Tavern ) are one . People staying in the hotel have a great restaurant to eat in , an amazing bar to have a cocktail in ( the Burritt Room ), and I think that completes the hotel experience .
H : What else would you highlight about the broad vision for the property ?
CP : The Mystic is positioned as a 3.5-star hotel . Our idea is to give a very good experience , but not a crazy rate . Our ADR is in the US $ 150 to US $ 160 range . It ’ s a hotel people can afford . H : Why expand your hotel portfolio now ? CP : The Mystic came about with our delay in Las Vegas . Out intention was to build the Charlie Palmer Hotel in Las Vegas , and with the downturn and the location where we are in Las Vegas , it became obvious it was going to be a while before we could actually do it .
In the meantime , our plan turned to looking for under-valued , underutilized properties , and San Francisco was one of our many target cities . We ’ re looking for existing construction , but they don ’ t have to be hotels . We have not only another possibility in San Francisco , but also in other cities like Seattle and Portland ( Oregon ).
I want to look at the hotel experience from a fresh point of view . I know people talk about hotels as hospitality , but I think in a restaurant there is a much more personal relationship with clientele . If we can introduce that to the hotel guest — if you can give people that sense of whatever you need we ’ re going to take care of it for you , like in a restaurant — I think that is unique .
H : Five years from now , where would you like to be with your hotel projects ?
CP : My wish would be that we have another two , maybe three , properties , and by then we ’ re building in Las Vegas . I ’ d like to be known as a unique hotel group concentrating on food and beverage and bringing an experience to our hotels that doesn ’ t exist , or doesn ’ t exist at our level . There ’ s a lot of room out there for that .
20 HOTELS June 2012 www . hotelsmag . com