Joie de Vivre Update

Looks like Chip Conley has chosen this 5 words for his Sacramento hotel.

- Authentic
- Influential
- Surprising
- Classic/All-American
- Eclectic

He choose 2 of the words I mentioned, 3 if you count diverse being a synonym for eclectic. I still would have liked to seen Lush in there..no biggie though.

He says he has the hotel name choosen along with the concept and operator for the restaurant, but he's not giving it up yet until it's trademarked. I just hope it's not something cheesy like "Capitol Hotel", "Governors Hotel" or anything like that.

At the last meeting I went to, they wanted to do a concept on the amazingly fresh product (though that screams more american type food to me) we have available to us here in the central valley, and it would be someone local. Rich Mahon at Waterboy is looking to do a new place, but in midtown and he wants to keep it manageable, I don't think a downtown hotel restaurant fits that description though.

I just hope we see 10th and K cabaret and the 700 block retail of K street finished by the time the hotel opens.

I'm really excited to see how this project turns out. You can bet I will be there to check it out soon after it opens.
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Bob Shallit: Adjectives to guide design of new hotel
By Bob Shallit - Bee Columnist

After holding four focus groups and hearing from hundreds of Sacramentans, boutique hotel magnate Chip Conley finally has the framework for his downtown Sacramento project.

It's five words: "authentic," "influential," "surprising," "classic/All-American" and "eclectic."

OK, maybe that's six.

Whatever, those were the adjectives used by focus group participants to describe their city. And Conley says they'll be the guide for interior designer Candra Scott as she works on the $55 million, 197-room hotel, which will be in a 1920s-era building at 10th and J streets.

Conley, head of Joie de Vivre Hospitality Inc., isn't disclosing a lot more news about his project. He has a name for the hotel -- "a unique name we're really excited about" -- but won't reveal it until it's trademarked. He also has a concept and operator selected for the hotel's restaurant. Details will be available in a month or two.

What can Conley tell us about the hotel, which is due to open in mid-2008?

Well, for one thing, the lobby will be amazing, he reports. "It will feel like a law library meets a cool bar," he says.