Vu

Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants is opening VU, a 222-room, 16-story hotel in Hell’s Kitchen, New York, slated to open in September 2008.
The VU, which will be operated and managed by Kimpton, is the first new hotel in the midtown district of Hells Kitchen. The hotel is located in a former printing house, a 1930s building with a striking three-story rooftop addition by architect Carlos Zapata, offering unobstructed views of the Hudson River and New Jersey to the west, and the Midtown Manhattan skyline to the East. It is being developed through a collaboration between Kimpton and NYC-based real estate development company Horizen Global.
“Kimpton is a pioneering company so it’s befitting that we’re the first in the industry to move into the area,” says Michael Depatie, President and CEO of Kimpton, “The VU offers travellers the ability to be in two places at once close enough to the epicenter of the city, yet far enough away to provide a true respite for its guests.”
The hotel is being designed by Rockwell Group whose founder David Rockwell has taken inspiration from three “quintessentially New York” spaces for different areas of the hotel. The lobby is a luxurious interpretation of a pocket park – the small and sometimes hidden and unexpected spaces that animate New York’s streets.
The guestroom design is inspired by the classic New York loft, showcasing the views that the hotel offers. Each contemporary room will be appointed in white, ruby reds and chocolate browns, with soft stone tiled bathrooms, oversized showers and large scale abstract artwork.
City rooftop gardens – the third element in Rockwell and Zapata’s urban concept for the hotel – are the impetus for the 15th floor rooftop lounge, a 2,000ft2 glass-enclosed bar with doors that can open in fair weather. There will also be outdoor seating for warmer weather, with a Jacuzzi for guests and a decorative reflecting pool. 
www.kimptonhotels.com