A few months ago we sneaked you a peek of the renderings for Amalia, printing Über-designer Steve Lewis’s shopping list along with them. The Dream Hotel’s newly opened restaurant sticks pretty much to plan. Silk chinoiserie wallpaper? Check. Wall of walnut pirolettes? Check. What the list didn’t shed light on, though, was the restroom, so after ordering some rosemary-lemon thyme “eau de vie” (French for “$12 shot of vodka”) off the dinner and drinks menu, we descended the “floating staircase” into the raw brick area that opens March 22 as the D’Or lounge.
Concept: Cracked chocolate leather walls and black slate doors and sinks make it seem as if you’re inside of someone’s oversize Fendi handbag.
Privacy: In the men’s room, the urinals are wedged into a narrow space that may leave you standing a little too close to your neighbor.
Amenities: Ceiling speakers (not in use when we visited), a bottle of air freshener on the sink, and a shelf for candles and peppermint breath mints. When the lounge opens, we suspect a bathroom attendant will take things up a notch.
Drawbacks: The exposed pipes under the sink are a bit of an aesthetic boo-boo.
Strategy: If you’re dining with an animal-rights activist, direct him to the leather-free facilities at the adjacent Dream Lounge. And for that matter, steer clear of the Berkshire-pork porterhouse.
Rating: — Daniel Maurer