Hotel so exclusive, address isn't even posted
NEW YORK CITY | Robert De Niro is behind locale that crafts affluence
"The Greenwich Hotel," we said to our New York cabbie, thinking further explanation unnecessary.
I figured most New Yorkers had heard about Robert De Niro's new Manhattan hotel, a project that's garnered plenty of publicity thanks to De Niro's star power as well as the building's controversial penthouse design.
Apparently news of the hotel co-owned by the world's most famous "Taxi Driver" hadn't trickled down to ... taxi drivers.
"Where?" the cabbie asked us, clearly confused.
Fumbling for the address, I came up with 377 Greenwich Street.
"There's no hotel there," he insisted. Still skeptical, he drove on only after I called to verify.
Our cab pulled in front of a brick exterior building that looked like a posh condo development. We searched the facade for an address but found nothing.
Just as the cabbie broke into an I-told-you-so smile, a hotel doorman appeared.
"It's out of respect for the neighborhood," the doorman told us, explaining the clandestine approach of no sign or address. "We want to blend into the community."
They succeeded. But the lack of street advertising more likely has to do with an air of exclusivity at a hotel that charges upward of $600 a night.
The 88-room property, which opened in the Tribeca neighborhood in April, includes the already popular Ago Ristorante (another signless, addressless institution). Plenty of trendy sidewalk cafes and restaurants are nearby, including De Niro's own Tribeca Grill.
Despite the hotel's name, Greenwich Village is a healthy distance away by foot. But it's walking distance to Battery Park, where you can catch a view of the Statue of Liberty looming in the distance.
When you enter the Greenwich, it feels like you're going to an exclusive country club, not a hotel. Terra-cotta and marble floors in the lobby, subtle lighting, couches covered in English leather, wooden ceiling beams salvaged from a Civil War-era factory, and mirrors once displayed in New York's Flatiron Building -- these are some of the ways the Greenwich tips its hat to Old World craftsmanship.
In our room, I melted on a blissfully comfortable Dux bed as we joked about the range of free items in the mini bar: tasty chocolate chip cookies, Cracker Jack, sparkling lemonade, Red Bull. If it didn't contain alcohol, it was free, just like the Wi-Fi.
The room's decor leaned toward the traditional side, with an antique rug, leather love seat and oak floors. But there were some eclectic touches, like the Moroccan-styled bathroom covered in hundreds of brightly colored, hand-cut, imperfectly laid tiles.
De Niro and his son, Raphael, partnered with hoteliers Ira Drukier and Richard Born to create the Greenwich. Other than a fireplace in Ago modeled after one in De Niro's home, there's no visible tribute to the Hollywood star.
The Greenwich's Shibui Spa, which opened this month, is for hotel guests only. It's Japanese-inspired, covered by reclaimed wood from a 250-year-old farmhouse that was constructed from wooden pegs and an ancient knot-tying technique.
The spa wasn't open yet during my summer visit, but I was able to indulge in a hot steam bath after a dip in the lantern-lit swimming pool.
Still under construction is the controversial penthouse, which has rankled some preservationists who say the top floor is bigger and looks different than what the city's landmarks preservation committee approved. The ensuing fracas has brought De Niro himself to city hearings in the hotel's defense.
I suspect that even if the penthouse opens as scheduled early next year, New York cabbies will still take some convincing before heading to 377 Greenwich.