The chandelier room at hoboken’s W Hotel has been reimagined as an ultra-cool club, in part thanks to celebrity designers

by Catie Curatolo

For a city that has changed more in the last ten years than even seasoned and sleep deprived correspondents can keep up with, Hoboken seems, at times maddeningly, to be an adventure in the same old thing. Conceived as an antidote to that ennui, a newly re-executed club is striving for something different… within a difference.

Located within the W Hotel, Lulu’s was renovated just last January. Although it originally had a darker and funkier look when it opened as the Chandelier Room in 2009, the newly christened joint brings, according to its management, “contemporary flair and classic sophistication” to River Street.

“Having a bunch of people jumping around on your furniture and your floors can produce a lot of wear and tear,” Lulu’s event manager Rebecca Tarantino said. “In this particular industry, it’s nice to get a fresh look every few years.”

In the case of Lulu’s, that fresh look came courtesy of TV personalities Robert and Cortney Novagratz. The duo is well known in the décor world for the Bravo show 9 by Design, as well as its HGTV show Home by Novogratz.

Lulu’s is owned by a third party restaurant and nightlife management company called the EMM Group, which owns several other establishments, including the popular seafood restaurant CATCH across the Hudson. The group, in conjunction with the W Hotel, called in a favor from friends the Novagratzs in early 2014 in an effort to revamp the venue. The redesign was a challenge for the couple (who mostly renovate homes and hotels), but mixing practicality and function paid off for Lulu’s; the result was a brighter space, with an open floor plan and striped wallpaper that draws attention to the 17-foot ceilings.

“[The change is] very dramatic because the ceilings are very high,” Tarantino said, noting that renovation work included “beautiful artwork and photography” from the hotel owner’s vast collection.

Lulu’s features televisions for game days, as well as a 20-foot bar and an outdoor terrace with an unobstructed view of the Manhattan skyline.

Depending on the night, the club can be filled with those in their early twenties to the late forties. Local DJs, as well as imports from the city, can be seen spinning current tracks every Thursday,
Friday and Saturday night.

The proximity to the hotel is a factor in the club’s varied visitors as well—Tarantino finds that many guests from weddings and other special events being held at the W will come into Lulu’s for after-hours partying.

Although the business functions as a club Wednesday through Saturday, the venue is also used by the W during the day for breakfast and brunch for guests. Because of the beautiful views and trendy vibe.

“It’s a super functional space,” Tarantino said. Since reopening in February, the club experienced what Tarantino dryly called a “nice” spring and summer.

However, she has high hopes as the club approaches its first birthday, a milestone in any entertainment enterprise.

“We’re hoping for a super crazy but fun fall and winter season,” she said.

LuLu’s @ the W Hoboken
225 River St., Hoboken
201.253.2520 / whoboken.com