Gramercy makeover goes artsy

IAN SCHRAGER’S reborn Gramercy Park Hotel, which is to open Tuesday in Manhattan, breaks the restless impresario’s own mold.

“This is the opposite of what I’m known for,” said Schrager, who has collaborated in the past with Frenchman Philippe Starck on sleek, chic interiors at the Mondrian Hotel on the Sunset Strip and the Delano in Miami.

Gramercy Park Hotel, whose guests will have access to the exclusive, gated East Side park, eschews a “definable look” in favor of “exhilarating disorder,” evoking an artist’s studio, Schrager said. Art includes works by Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Julian Schnabel, who designed the interior. It is aimed at the “new haute bohemian” who has “resources, taste and understands the finer things in life,” Schrager said.

Room rates are expected to start at $525 a night after Labor Day, when a $250-per-night special ends.

A Chinese restaurant and a rooftop club and garden will open later. The 185-room hotel, at 2 Lexington Ave., is part of a condominium-hotel project. Info: (866) 784-1300 or (866) 960-8080, www.gramercyparkhotel.com.

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Expedia offers a new option on insurance

CUSTOMERS of Internet travel seller Expedia can now buy a plan that offers refunds on vacation packages if they cancel for any reason, not just for illness and other emergencies.

The plan, available only for air-hotel packages, refunds trip deposits, airline change fees and Expedia booking fees if you cancel.

It may also refund airfare, depending on whether it’s a published fare or one negotiated by Expedia, said Janice Lichtenwaldt, who developed the program.

The Expedia Package Protection Plan costs $39 to $89 per person, depending on the itinerary. You can’t buy it if you book only airfare; instead, a separate plan that restricts reasons for canceling is available.

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Navigating a rental car

AVIS and Budget plan to offer navigation systems for car rentals in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico.

For $9.95 per day or $49.95 per week, customers will be able to rent the Where2 units, which can be placed in any rented vehicle.

Besides on-screen maps and multilingual spoken directions, the Where2 system offers traffic updates in major cities; airline contacts; locations of hotels, gas stations and other facilities; and Bluetooth wireless capability.

Avis and Budget will begin phasing in the Where2 units Aug. 22 and expect to offer them in 50 U.S. cities by the end of the year, said Susan McGowan, spokeswoman for Avis Budget Car Rental.

-- Jane Engle