KatW

In addition to its Malibu location, Nobu will be managing Palo Alto's Hotel Epiphany:

HOTEL NOBU? ... Nearly three weeks after the much-anticipated opening of high-end Japanese restaurant Nobu at The Epiphany Hotel in downtown Palo Alto, the hotel announced July 26 that it will now also be managed by Nobu Hospitality group. The Hamilton Avenue hotel still remains under the ownership of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, but Nobu Hospitality -- a company founded by chef Nobu Matsuhisa, actor Robert De Niro and Hollywood producer Meir Teper -- will assume management on Oct. 2. The hotel has been managed by Joie de Vivre, a boutique hotel chain based in San Francisco. The 83-room hotel will be "rebranded" as the "Nobu Hotel Epiphany," a press release states. Ellison, who purchased The Epiphany in 2015, previously partnered with Matsuhisa to build a hotel on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. There also is a Nobu at the Lanai, Hawaii, Four Seasons, which Ellison owns. "The hotel will continue to maintain its individuality and distinct character while benefiting from Nobu's operating culture and philosophy," Trevor Horwell, chief executive officer of Nobu Hospitality, said in the release. Under the new management, the Palo Alto hotel will offer "exclusive Nobu amenities" like 24-hour room service from the restaurant and priority reservations for hotel guests. Nobu Palo Alto, the first northern California location for the global restaurant group, officially opened its doors on July 7. -- E.K

uggboy

Thanks KatW, we're glad to learn that Nobu Hotels expanding further around the world.

Nobu Hospitality is one to watch IMHO, it's already fascinating how they combine their restaurant and hotel businesses to strengthen each other.

For more, please see:

http://www.nobuhotels.com/

and

http://www.noburestaurants.com/

Cheers & Safe Travels. ^

0bsidian

I had a meeting at the recently opened Nobu London, after which I asked reception to give me a tour of rooms and facilities.

The hard product and location can hardly be called luxury.
I was a bit puzzled by the whole affair.

I would be curious to understand who their target market is, as it definitely isn't the FS/MO/etc. clientele.

KatW

I've visited the Nobu Malibu website. It lacks bountiful room details but what little I saw was unconvincing. Could not locate any info regarding room size, for example. Nevertheless, its rooms in Malibu are rack-rated at $1,100-$2,000/night which is luxe pricing if nothing else.

KatW

One possibility is leveraging the renown restaurant. Another could be the venue's traditional Japanese inn style. Ellision is known to be obsessive about traditional Japanese style.

uggboy

Thanks Obsidian, fascinating insights and thoughts about the newly opened Nobu Hotel Shoreditch, London.

Luxury is personal and expands in many different directions in terms of style, location, offerings and what a new generation of guests are looking for in a luxury hotel, there's a market/guest out there who's slightly different ideas what luxury hospitality actually is to him/her and Nobu delivers such boutique experiences to people which aren't looking for a more traditinal defined FS/MO stay, having said that, the two styles aren't always competing with each other as sometimes the same guest can be found at very different hotels, it's more about their mood and purpose of travel which ultimately decides where they stay or what experience/location suits the most at any given time while they/we travel.

Cheers & Safe Travels. ^

KatW

Interesting. But count me out.

Kagehitokiri

nobu ryokan has little in common with every other nobu hotel, likely no 'brand concept'

KatW

I ecpect, over time, most of the Nobu hotels will take on an increasingly Japanese style. Not full-blown ryokan but closer to that than not. Any sort of garden is out in the Palo Alto site unless they want to give up space for a terrace garden, or on the roof permits willing.

Kagehitokiri

dont know who owns brand, but my impression is they franchise with few requirements

likely only reason nobu ryokan is branded nobu is its adjacent to restaurant
larry ellison bought lanai/FS and many homes on the beach where nobu is
robert deniro owns greenwich hotel NY, opened to fairly strong reviews here

hauteliving.com/2013/07/checking-in-with-nobu-matsuhisa/377870/

KatW

Ownership details:
"Oracle co-founder and billionaire Larry Ellison bought the Casa Malibu Inn in 2007, and is a major landowner along the coast. The hotel is the first of the Nobu Ryokan brand, owned by Ellison, Chef Nobu Matsuhisa, actor Robert DeNiro, and film producer Meir Teper. While there are other Nobu Hotels in Las Vegas, Manila, Miami and London with many more slated to open in the next two years including; Bahrain, Toronto, Los Cabos, Riyadh and Ibiza, this is the first of the Ryokan brand."
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimdobs.../#d4ae1d372cf0

Open question as to whether the PA Epiphany evolves into the Ryokan format.

Kagehitokiri

beachfront, ocean, garden
GM ex auberge and FS
linkedin.com/in/janelle-eng-56500913

seems ellison buys a lot of real estate, not sure re (ultra) lux in silicon valley market
(speaking in terms of local demands in silicon valley versus malibu beach)

16 room ryokan
83 room epiphany >
paloaltoonline.com/news/2015/09/14/larry-ellison-buys-epiphany-hotel-in-palo-alto
good point re how long it took ellison to build ryokan
opportunity/potential better when oceanfront/etc

"first of the Nobu Ryokan brand" would be great if they do more $1,000/nt hotels

re ownership i meant majority equity of nobu hotel brand

KatW

Yes, different room scale. But the Epiphany currently houses the Nobu restaurant. The Malibu Nobu was formerly a classless motel. If owners choose, they can take the Palo Alto room count way down, etc.

The salient point is that within the Nobu hotelry group there is, in fact, to be a Ryokan brand which was doubted above.

Whatever.

DJ_Iceman

After trying two Nobu restaurants and finding them far from luxurious (despite an absurd price point), I have no interest in trying Nobu hotels. Such is the price they pay for so-called synergy--some people may buy into the whole product while others like me get turned off.

RichardInSF

I had to google hotel Epiphany. It's one of two alleged luxury hotels in Palo Alto. The other one is called the Clement (the first name of the owner). The Clement is different, the room rate mandatorily includes all three meals a day, whether or not the guest takes them.

There are enough high end travelers to justify two small, likely overpriced, hotels.

Note that the Four Seasons Silicon Valley is not in Palo Alto; it's in East Palo Alto which is definitely a different place, not even in the same county.