Miramar Headed for Hip New Life?

Hotel impresario Ian Schrager, whose hip holdings include West Hollywood’s Mondrian and Miami Beach’s Delano, is on a buying spree that includes the historic-but-faded 214-room Miramar in Montecito and 684-room St. Moritz in Manhattan. He’s also casting his buying eye on The Clift in San Francisco, which he already manages.

In a typically quixotic manner, Schrager said last week he hopes to transform the 1880s-vintage beachfront Miramar, which he said he’s buying for about $31 million, into a secluded “very laid-back village . . . like camping out but staying in a cottage”--and yet on the five-star level of a Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel. Think sports and spa. As for the Miramar’s room rates, which start at $95 now, he said you can “assume” they’ll go higher.

Philippe Starck, the cutting-edge designer who gave the Delano and Mondrian their unique looks, will handle the Miramar’s redesign. Schrager, due to take possession in September, said he hasn’t decided whether to keep the hotel open during remodeling.

With The Clift, opened in 1915, and the St. Moritz, opened in 1930, Schrager said he plans mainly to restore the hotels rather than change their character, aiming for “super five-star luxury.” He has owned the St. Moritz since April. Although he said he hopes to buy The Clift, he declined to say whether he is in negotiations.