The Chronicle‘s David Kaplan reports that the downtown boutique hotel business seems to be booming:
When the Hotel Icon opened in 2004, it drew the beautiful people. Guests have included Paris Hilton, Sting and Michael Jordan.
Until recently, the Icon featured Bank, the chic creation of New York-based chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and Whiskey Bar, owned by Rande Gerber, the jet-setting hubby of Cindy Crawford.
Bank and Whiskey Bar are no more: The Icon is joining other downtown boutique hotels in getting a makeover.
Its plush lobby will take on a modern look. Its new restaurant, Voice, will be less pricey and serve regional cuisine. Voice chef Michael Kramer is a nonjet-setter whose favorite way to travel is on a bicycle.
The hotel is spending $4 million on the redo, which will be unveiled March 23.
Most of downtown’s boutique hotels, including the Icon, Alden, Inn at the Ballpark and the Magnolia Hotel, are fairly new properties. Their renovations could be a sign that they’ve survived birth pangs and are here for the long haul.
That’s great news. Let’s hope it means that, in the case of the Magnolia, the City of Houston has managed finally to get a cut of the action!
