Sunday, September 29, 2013

Accusations fly over Mondrian SoHo Hotel

NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 15: Recording artist Kanye West attends the VMAN21 launch party at The Garden at The Mondrian Soho on February 15, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)

Neilson Barnard/Getty Images



Kanye West, who helped open the Mondrian SoHo, at a party in the celebrity-magnet hotel




One of the world’s most respected boutique hotel groups is locked in a messy court battle with the owners of the celeb favorite Mondrian SoHo, with both sides making bombshell allegations.


Sochin Downtown Realty owns the property, which is run by Morgans Hotel Group. In papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court and obtained by Confidenti@l, Sochin says, “Morgans’ management of the Hotel was an abject disaster” that cost Sochin large sums.


The documents include allegations from Morgans that Sochin, which was in charge of construction, tried to reduce costs by cutting corners and in the process endangered hotel guests.


As an example, Morgans cites the “elimination of all but one generator so that (Morgans) faced exponentially greater difficulties in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.”


The hotel opened to much fanfare in February 2011 following a party thrown by Kanye West where fake money was shot out of cannons. It houses the very popular Mr. H nightclub and Soaked rooftop lounge, as well as the Isola Trattoria restaurant. Some of the stars recently spotted there include Blake Lively, Matt Lauer and Jon Bon Jovi.


Not all the big names have been happy with the hotel’s design, Morgans adds: “In one instance, an A-list celebrity celebrating a birthday at the Hotel with several friends checked out of the Hotel shortly after checking in, citing the inferior penthouse suite size.”


The company also claims that because of Sochin’s conduct, Morgans has missed out on annual incentive fees, causing “substantial financial harm.”


Morgans also says it has funded about $1.2 million in pre-opening expenses and operating shortfalls and hasn’t been reimbursed.


Most seriously, Morgans says that “Sochin made false, defamatory statements that impugned (Morgans’) integrity, in the presence of a third-party lender with whom Morgans Hotel Group ... maintains an ongoing relationship."


Returning fire, the owners say “Morgans’ performance caused the Hotel to place last compared to its competitive set of hotels in revenue per available room.” Sochin also says Morgans mismanaged the Mondrian by overbilling, incurring expenses without its approval and failing to hit certain budget and profit targets.


A Delaware Chancery court this month ordered Morgans out of the hotel.


A rep for Morgans said: “We plan to appeal the court’s decision if the order is not vacated. We continue to believe that a negotiated resolution of this dispute ... is preferable to litigation. In the interim, Mondrian SoHo continues to operate business as usual under our existing management agreement.”



No comments:

Post a Comment