hoteliers Alexandre Barrière and Joy Desseigne-Barrière lead the group.
The Barrière Collection now numbers 19 hotels, but only one is in America. To hear it from Caspi, it didn’ t happen by chance, but through assiduity and due diligence. Referring to it as a“ robust” process more than a decade ago,“ We interviewed everyone under the sun,” Caspi said, with luxury players like Montage and Auberge in contention. Of Barrière?“ These guys were complete outliers,” Caspi said.“ We had never heard of them.” But they flew to New York; he flew to France; and, as he told it,“ I was taken aback by their level of hospitality.” In an age where brand awareness, loyalty and global distribution are the names of
A bedroom at Fouquet’ s New York. The hotel was designed by acclaimed architect Martin Brudnizki.
the game, Caspi could have taken the easier route and chosen a brand with a larger global network and higher recognition. And he wouldn’ t have been blamed for it. But there was new blood at the top of Barrière that was reinvigorating the group, as Caspi saw it. In fact, some time into the building process, Caspi still hadn’ t decided outright on an overall design aesthetic. A conversation with Mitch Hochberg, president of The Lightstone Group and a mentor of Caspi, changed that.“ He was like,‘ Go with your gut.’”
Titsou Bar recalls Paris in the 1920s and’ 30s. It’ s inspired by the Bar Marta at Fouquet’ s Paris.
PARIS MEETS NEW YORK The hotel could be described as a marriage between Paris and New York— a blend of Parisian panache and Tribeca cool, with the 97 rooms and suites designed by the worldrenowned Martin Brudnizki. The distinctly French lavender color is incorporated throughout the guestroom design.
Beyond Brasserie Fouquet’ s, beyond Titsou Bar, the hotel features the all-day bistro Élysée’ s and a rooftop outdoor space called Le Vaux that is inspired by the French
gardens of Vaux-Le-Vicomte and Versailles. Other amenities include a spa with an indoor pool and, fittingly, a screening room: Ever since Robert De Niro conceived the Tribeca Festival in 2002, the neighborhood has been synonymous with cinema.( De Niro developed The Greenwich Hotel just blocks south of Fouquet’ s.)
Space in downtown New York is limited and comes at a premium. Fouquet’ s New York was a ground-up build that replaced a razed one-story parking garage in a landmark district, which made construction a challenge from the jump.( The 100-year ground lease was originally controlled by New York developer phenom Sam Chang, who had earmarked it for a Hyatt project before Caspi took over.) A landmarked site has special protections requiring approvals for any alterations, demolition or renovations to preserve original character. Construction becomes more onerous than it typically might be. In the case of Fouquet’ s, the property was initially supposed to go one story into the ground.“ You really can’ t squeeze all the amenities you want on one story in the ground,” Caspi said.“ We were
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