On Hollywood’s Sunset Boulevard, where the iconic Standard Hotel once rocked the scene, a new industry disruptor has taken its place. This time, any remaining impulses of late 1990s and 2000s decadence have been erased with features like a social lobby and a sprawling rooftop park with verdant landscaping with Adirondack chairs and a campfire.
When the third iteration of Ian Schrager’s democratic luxury concept Public West Hollywood opens July 15, it will introduce 137 new rooms, feature a pool, three food-and-entertainment venues and a 16,000-square-foot private park with panoramic views of Los Angeles.
In a silent but rebellious response to industry standards, Schrager, who founded Studio 54 with Steve Rubell in 1977, has skimmed some of the excess he now thinks is pointless. In other words, he wants you to know what Public West Hollywood doesn’t have.
“We don’t have a celebrity chef, even though that’s something I introduced to the industry. We don’t have a fancy menu. That’s out of touch… We don’t have a traditional front desk so you go up to your room almost like you would your own apartment or a residence. We don’t even have a TV in the room… We don’t have design on steroids… it’s something everybody can be comfortable with,” he said in a video message sent Wednesday.
Schrager wants to appeal to people’s sensibilities through food that makes them feel satisfied. In detail, every room functions as a screening room and is outfitted with 8 x 12-foot screens, which is “completely appropriate to be in Hollywood,” he added. It also has a nightclub but there are no blinking lights and the sound system will make patrons feel like they are dancing on a sound stage where one can hear and feel the music. Rates are somewhat accessible, starting at $495 a night.
The rooftop park of the new Public West Hollywood.
Courtesy of Public
Schrager’s career in hospitality rocketed almost immediately after spending time in jail with Rubell for tax evasion at the dawn of the 1980s, right around the time when disco died. That’s where Schrager and Rubell envisaged Morgan’s in New York, which was considered the world’s first boutique hotel when it opened in 1984. In 2008, he introduced the Edition concept with J.W. Marriott. He stepped back from the brand, which now boasts 20 locations globally, in 2022.
Schrager’s first Public hotel concept launched in Chicago in 2011, but was sold six years later. In 2017, he opened Public New York, which teeters between a place to party and a place to sleep and which established his democratic luxury concept. Now the hotelier says the Public West Hollywood could be his best hotel yet.
A render of the lobby of Public West Hollywood.
Courtesy of Public
In February it was revealed that he inked a joint venture agreement with hospitality management and investment firm Highgate with the aim of expanding Public into new markets around the globe. Through the terms of the deal, Schrager retains full creative authority, vision and brand stewardship, similar to the deal he had with Marriott International until he stepped back from Edition.
The West Hollywood location is different even from New York as it imbues seamlessly with the city around it, defined by the desert-meets-sandy beach landscape that surrounds it and the entertainment that serves as a beating pulse at its heart. “When someone stays in a hotel they should be able to get a feeling of what the city is all about… just merely by staying in a hotel.”
While Schrager is experimenting with a slightly more accessible price point and attempts “the maximum effect in the most minimal way,” he is not about alienating the upper crust. He’s actually penetrating a class that indulges in a less-is-more concept, albeit luxuries that don’t scream.
“West Hollywood is trying to mirror and manifest a cultural merlot. It’s trying to hit the zeitgeist. When you put it all together… You’ll find yourself on the razor edge of a delicate balancing act. It’s subversive yet very sophisticated. It’s rebellious yet very, very refined. Very provocative and original yet timeless… It’s my most important idea to date.”
Reservations are now live on the Public West Hollywood website.
Public West Hollywood will open July 15.
Courtesy of Public
