Last week, I’ve come to the realization that I am no longer hip (or perhaps I never was!) and you know what?  I’m totally OK with that.

Firmdale Hotels is a UK based hotelier that has opened their first state-side property recently: The Crosby Street Hotel in the Soho section of New York City.    Firmdale is known for having eclectically-decorated, luxurious properties throughout London for guests who want to stay in a hotel that’s not the norm.   And with their first property in the US aiming to get gold LEED certification (LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), they would be one of the few hotels in the country with that LEED mark.   So, as a green eco-stylist, I thought it was worth checking out.

Let’s talk about design first.    The entire hotel’s interior design is done by Kit Kemp, the wife and co-owner of the Firmdale properties chain along with husband Tim Kemp.   To call the hotel’s interior design eclectic, would be a huge understatement.   There are flocks of telephones mounted to the walls; a giant 10′ tall “head” made out of letters melded together in the lobby; stacks of felt mounted together as a chair.   It’s not annoyingly hip, but it’s not classically modern.  It’s just, well, different.    And I’ll leave it at that.

Each room is done differently, which I applaud.    But obviously, there are certain components that are going to be consistent, like the types of bedding, style of artwork, the plushness of the towels and—the most important—the mattress.    I had high hopes for staying at this hotel, especially since I was forking over $525 a night to stay there.   As someone with my own mattress line, maybe I’m a bit too tough when it comes to beds because frankly I know too much about beds.   To beds aren’t just firm, they are plywood rock solid.    It was perhaps one of the most uncomfortable night’s sleep I have ever had in my life.    It was so bad, I contemplated at 3AM (after tossing and turning) about throwing on my coat and checking into a Holiday Inn in Chinatown to sleep on a softer bed for a few hours and returning later to fetch my bags.   The next morning, when I mentioned the hardness of the bags to the front desk, the American clerk agreed they are too hard; the British employee disagreed and said that’s how they like them in England.    Crosby Street Hotel: if you want to disappoint your entire American customer base, keep these beds.  All I’m saying.

At first glance, I loved the floor to ceiling factory style windows in the rooms.    It really shows off the NY Skyline and floods the room with warm, beautiful sunlight all day long. The one caveat:  if you wanted any privacy, it was either shut the drapes closed completely to block out all light, or keep them fully open as if you’re living in a glass box.    The people across the street?  They love to wave hello to the guests.

In terms the “green-ness” of this hotel, there are some interesting highlights.  There will be a rooftop garden that will grow seasonal produce, along with a 10 chicken coop for eggs.   The on-site restaurant will make use of that produce come Spring, but for now it tries to use as much locally sourced food.  Unfortunately, the food is best described what my pal at The New York Post calls it: very bad wedding food.   Note to kitchen: spend more funds on the actual foods and not the weird, techno plates.   On the 2nd floor, a woodland meadow will be planted with over 50 varieties of flowers to attract butterflies and add color to the property.

And to achieve the LEED standard, the hotel has recycled the waste from the previous building that was on-site (a parking garage), installed bicycle racks to encourage public transportation, installed energy efficient lighting, used zero and low VOC finishes, exceeded code mandated energy efficiency, uses green power and used FSC certified wood throughout. 

But at the end of the day, does the property justify the pricetag of a low of $525 a night?   In fairness, I do applaud them for aiming for LEED certification, all while presenting a property that is very, um, unique.    But with a rock-hard bed, weird windows and some decorating touches that disrupt more than enhance, I can’t say I’ll return. 

Would love to hear your thoughts if you ever stay at the Crosby Street Hotel and if there are any other “green” hotels you just absolutely love.  In the meantime, I have some sleep to catch up on!

Tags: Crosby Street Hotel, LEED

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 1:21 am and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.