• Irreverent, quirky, imaginative style without the cardiac-arrest price tag.
• One of the best spas in Manhattan.
• The reassuringly iconic neon spectacle of Times Square.
The Whole Story
Opened in 2004 on 55th Street and Broadway, Dream is the fourth hotel from actor and entrepreneur Vikram Chatwal. Dubbed the ‘turbaned cowboy’ by New York media, Chatwal is developing a string of hotels where imagination is on an equal level with service. Dream is an apt title for this hotel, because it surely describes the life of this family. The story starts with an Indian Air Force fighter pilot who decided after retiring from service to move to Ethiopia to teach English. Once established there, he started experimenting with catering and opened an Indian restaurant. On relocating to New York, the Chatwals opened the now legendary Bombay Palace, the first restaurant to offer a five star version of Indian cuisine. It was an instant success, and within three years there was a chain of Bombay Palaces in five different countries. It’s a far cry from Ethiopia to the cover of Asian Forbes, on which Vikram Chatwal has featured, and surely this is the quintessential American dream. But Vikram Chatwal had a more surreal definition in mind when he commenced the overhaul of the former Majestic. That’s how a suspended crystal galleon, a monumental copper statue of Catherine the Great in Mongolian clothes, and the largest tropical fish tank in the northern hemisphere ended up being together in one place.
But most unexpected perhaps in the menu of contributors is Deepak Chopra, with his wellness centre one floor down from the lobby. This centre is Deepak Chopra’s New York headquarters, and the treatments on offer are effective and authentic. On top of the building, at the other end of the dosha scale, is Dream’s Ava bar, another rooftop venue to join Manhattan’s current infatuation with roofbars. Ava, it has to be said, has a visual edge with one of the best views of Times Square anywhere in New York. Dream was conceived by Vikram Chatwal to facilitate dreams, and the hotel’s slogan, “You provide the dream, we provide the service” says it all.
The Rooms
Surreal and intriguing rooms come with comfort and high tech demands in mind. Enjoy wall mounted plasmas, pre-loaded iPods, in room movies, DVD, featherbeds and Kashmere bathrobes.