Morgans Hotel Group and The School of Life Announce Global Partnership

NEW YORK, Jan. 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Morgans Hotel Group Co. (Nasdaq: MHGC) ("Morgans") – Morgans Hotel Group announces the launch of a global partnership with The School of Life, which will see a series of bespoke amenities and events rolled out across Morgans' hotels in London, New York, Miami, Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Luxury hotels do an exceptional job of catering to the needs of the body, and now their challenge is to address the needs of the mind.  Morgans Hotel Group, known for its innovative style of hospitality, is meeting this challenge head on through this exciting new collaboration with The School of Life, a groundbreaking enterprise that offers good ideas for everyday living.  The partnership includes the creation of a Minibar for the Mind, which launches at Morgans' two London hotels, Sanderson and St Martins Lane, from 24 January 2011.  

Founded in 2008, The School of Life runs a diverse range of public programmes and services which address questions of personal fulfilment and how to lead a better life.  Drawing insights from philosophy, psychology, literature, the visual arts and sciences, The School of Life offers evening classes, weekends, conversation meals and other events that explore issues relating to big themes such as Love, Work, Play, Self, Family and Community.  The School of Life also offers a broad spectrum of consultancy services for business.

The Minibar for the Mind has been created exclusively for Morgans by The School of Life, and offers guests at Sanderson, St Martins Lane, Delano, Mondrian Soho and Mondrian Los Angeles a midnight feast of intellect, inspiration and ideas. Priced at just $56, the custom-made box is also available at Morgans Semi-Automatic machines at Hudson, Mondrian South Beach and St Martins Lane and contains an intriguing and thought-provoking alternative to the usual minibar fare:

-- CONVERSATION STARTERS

Fuel conversation: A box set of 250 cards featuring questions, quotations and provocations.

-- COLLECTED THOUGHTS  

Feed your brain: A volume of the best columns written by The School of Life's faculty and friends.

-- READING PRESCRIPTIONS  

Drink in these words:  Two tailor-made reading prescriptions from The School of Life's Bibliotherapists designed to evoke moods of relaxation or seduction.

-- DREAMS & FEARS NOTEBOOK with WRITER'S BLOCK PENCIL SET

Pour out your thoughts: An open book and a blank page to write down your dreams and fears.

From January, guests at all Morgans Hotel Group Properties will also be treated to a Daily Aphorism card at turn down service.  Offering insights from some of the greatest literary minds, guests will be encouraged to ponder, discuss and dispute the wisdom of words such as Samuel Beckett's 'Ever tried.  Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.'

In addition to the usual selection of fine wines and food, guests dining at Morgans Hotel Group's Hudson (New York), Ames (Boston) and Sanderson (London) restaurants will also be offered a Conversation Menu.  This entertaining selection of conversation prompts will ensure that table talk moves beyond the domain of the weather and the price of gas.

Throughout the duration of the partnership, The School of Life will host a series of talks in hotels across the Morgans Hotel Group portfolio. Members of The School of Life faculty will cover topics such as Conversation, Reading, Travel and Culture. Romance, or more specifically 'How to make love last', will be the order of the day when The School of Life hosts its first event, a Conversation Dinner at Suka at Sanderson on Valentine's Day 2011.

The School of Life will also curate Semi-Automatic, a luxe take on the vending machine, and a unique play on the traditional hotel gift store, occupying a space in the St Martins Lane hotel lobby.   For a limited period, a selection of The School of Life's favorite products and experiences will be available, including: Bibliotherapy Gift Vouchers, Dinner with renowned writer/ philosopher Alain de Botton, limited edition design objects and good reads - all inspired by themes of Love, Work, Play and Self.

The School of Life Semi-Automatic will be fully operational within St Martins Lane lobby from January 15 through March 31 2011, available to guests 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"The School of Life represents the best of creative and cutting edge thinking," says Morgans Hotel Group's Creative Director and SVP of Marketing, Kim Walker.  "We are committed to offering our guests a stimulating and authentic experience.  This exciting partnership will compliment the unique cultural offering that we deliver to our guests in design, food, nightlife and events."

Morgwn Rimel, Director of The School of Life says, "Morgans Hotel Group asked The School of Life to consider how we might create more meaningful (and enjoyable) experiences for their guests.  We believe that travel and time away from everyday routines can provide the perfect opportunity to learn more about ourselves. The bespoke amenities and events we've designed for Morgans will allow hotel guests to use their time for more inspiring reflection and give them a chance to connect with fellow travelers in fun and creative ways."

Minibar contents include: Conversation Starters (box set 250 cards), Collected Thoughts Vol.1 (book), 2 x Bibliotherapy Prescriptions, Dreams & Fears Notebook, Writer's Block (set of 3 x pencils)

About Morgans Hotel Group

Morgans Hotel Group Co. (Nasdaq: MHGC) is widely credited as the creator of the first "boutique" hotel and a continuing leader of the hotel industry's boutique sector.  Morgans Hotel Group operates and owns, or has an ownership interest in, Morgans, Royalton and Hudson in New York, Delano and Shore Club in South Beach, Mondrian in Los Angeles and South Beach, Clift in San Francisco, Ames in Boston, and Sanderson and St Martins Lane in London. Morgans Hotel Group and an equity partner also own the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and related assets. Morgans Hotel Group also manages hotels in Isla Verde, Puerto Rico and Playa del Carmen, Mexico.  Morgans Hotel Group has other property transactions in various stages of completion in various locations around the world. For more information please visit www.morganshotelgroup.com

About The School of Life

At The School of Life we come up with good ideas for everyday living. Some of the brightest minds in the world run our classes, meals, sermons, weekends and one-to-ones.

Shy and retiring isn't us. We tackle life's big questions. Why are jobs often uninspiring? How can we fulfill our potential? Can relationships last a lifetime? Why does community matter?

We don't have all the answers, but we do promise to pique your curiosity and get your brain whirring.

The School of Life is headquartered in Central London, to find out more please go to: www.theschooloflife.com

Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements

This press release may contain certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, the operating performance of our investments and financing needs and prediction of certain future other events. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate" "believe," "project," or other similar words or expressions. These forward-looking statements reflect our current views about future events and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and changes in circumstances that may cause our actual results or other future events to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. Important risks and factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to economic, business, competitive market and regulatory conditions such as: a sustained downturn in economic and market conditions, particularly levels of spending in the business, travel and leisure industries; continued tightness in the global credit markets; general volatility of the capital markets and our ability to access the capital markets; our ability to refinance our current outstanding debt and to repay outstanding debt as such debt matures; our ability to protect the value of our name, image and brands and our intellectual property; risks related to natural disasters, such as earthquakes, volcanoes and hurricanes; hostilities, including future terrorist attacks, or fear of hostilities that affect travel; and other risk factors discussed in MHG's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009, and other documents filed by MHG with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. All forward-looking statements in this press release are made as of the date hereof, based upon information known to management as of the date hereof, and MHG assumes no obligations to update or revise any of its forward-looking statements even if experience or future changes show that indicated results or events will not be realized.

SOURCE Morgans Hotel Group Co.