The December issue of The Real Deal is now online, and it's a doozy. Did everyone connected to the real estate industry suddenly dump their publicists in advance of the holiday season? There's a serious shooting-yourself-in-the-foot epidemic that runs through the stories, such as Exhibit A: an interview with developer Mukesh Patel about his BQE-straddling Hotel Le Jolie in Williamsburg. While he's probably correct in his assumption that parents of Williamsburg-residing youngsters will pay over $200/night to stay in his piece of shit hotel on a desolate strip of the 'Burg to be close to their kids, things quickly turn dicey for Mr. Patel from there.
Some words of wisdom:
1) On Williamsburg: "It's a colony of yuppies, and it's still a trendy cultural community."
2) On the BQE location: "I'm lucky. I'm right here before it all happens."
3) On why Europeans will be drawn to his Gowanus hotel, Le Bleu: "We focus on the details." What details? "The bellman is at the door waiting and greeting guests. After checking in, he brings the luggage and guests all the way to their room and alerts them to all the features in the room." Holy fucking shit, is Andre Balazs taking notes on this?!
4) On the Le Jolie clientèle, albeit not a direct quote: "Patel is also banking on the lure of a Williamsburg landmark, Peter Luger Steakhouse on Broadway, a short distance from Le Jolie." As one Curbed correspondent succinctly put it, "Banking on the lure of Peter Luger? What, for Manhattan execs to take their admin assts there, get them drunk and then need a cheap, easy place to bang them?"
Steakhouse tourism may lead some people to the Jolie's doors, sure, and what they'll find upon entering is a hotel desk employee locked behind bulletproof glass. Colony of yuppies, indeed.
· Getting a hotel room near the BQE [TRD]
· Hotel Le Jolie Open in Burg: Rendering Looks Nice [Curbed]
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