The Boutique style Dream Hotel in New York seemed to us to have a kind of split personality. One of jet setter Vikram Chatwal's group of hotels, the Dream Hotel, at first glance, seemed odd and empty and a little bit lifeless and nearly uninhabited. At night, it seemed to have a hum that was fun and decadent. Our room really came alive as the night fell with neon lighting under the bed and the thump of the disco several floors up in the Ava Lounge (for Ava Gardner). .
It seems (and this is only a guess) that the place was an old hotel that had been renovated to a point. There was still the patina of wear and tear at the place which was, again, I am guessing, probably left intact to give the hotel a kind of seedy glamour. Mission Accomplished!
The decor was a kind of mish mash with taxidermy, giant oriental sculpture and a showstopping aquarium in the lobby that was two floors tall. There was a subterranean world of spa offerings (The Deepak Chopra Center and Spa) where you can indulge in any number of yoga classes, spa treatments and Wellness Consultations. The Ava Lounge, on the 14Th Floor Penthouse seems an odd, but enticing combination of 50's Mad Men style retro and some European influences with vintage nudes on the wall.
Lynn and I enjoyed our short stay and we would no doubt go back again. The mix of styles and moods takes a little getting used to and perhaps there is a sense that the place tries too hard to be hip. However, it is one of the few major hotels in mid-town that does not have an overly commercial vibe...We will be back....
