the Mercer Hotel

The Mercer Hotel was originally built in 1890 by John Jacob Astor. It is a NYC landmark building. In 1988, the property was acquired by the Andres Balazs group to build the first Soho hotel, called the Mercer Hotel, that opened in 1997. Then, of course, came the Soho Kitchen in 1998, which Jean-Georges Vongerichten ran. The food was delicious….the tuna pizza was brilliant.

Much can be said about those days, but we loved the Mercer Hotel. Our family stayed there for six weeks in 1999. It was quite the Eloise lives downtown moment for our kids, who were 8, 6, and 3, as they returned to the city to live their lives; our 3-year-old son had never lived in the city before. Their first entry was living at the Mercer for six weeks, and walking to school every morning down Prince Street. Quite epic.

There are many memorable moments. One was when Fred was sitting in the lobby at 5 am after he woke up to begin work, and Jay-Z rolls in with his entourage at 6 am from the evening activities, walking past Fred in the lobby. My favorite might be the night of the hurricane, when Guilianni shut down the city. We went out for dinner every night, and that night we stayed at the hotel. We were the only guests at the Mercer Kitchen. Our kids were in the kitchen with the chefs, we were treated like royalty, we drank heavily and the entire family rolled into the elevator at the end of the evening up to our room.

I have been out of the city this summer because our elevator is being repaired. It will be ready to operate immediately the day after Labor Day, thank God. We all came to the city for two nights for a family affair. I was not interested in walking up eight flights several times a day, or being trapped in our apartment, so I got rooms at the Mercer.

The hotel is now under new ownership. Zero Bond is a partner operating a club on the ground floor. Alfred Portale, who had been at Gotham Bar and Grill for 34 years, is the culinary director. Yet, it still feels like the Mercer Hotel did in 1999. Clean, simple, great sheets and beds, fabulous towels and bathrooms, clean and chic, timeless. The Mercer confirms that good design lasts and becomes iconic. The Christian Liaigre furniture still looks good.

We continued to dine at the restaurant after we moved out because we loved the food, the vibe, and the connection to the hotel. I am so happy we are staying at the Mercer; it feels like visiting an old friend. I wonder if the umbrellas still hang upside down in the women’s bathroom downstairs in the restaurant when it rains. I might have to check before we leave.