By Serena Solomon
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
HELL'S KITCHEN — A boutique hotelier and a nightclub owner have joined forces to create the city's first gay tourist oasis on the West Side.
The Out NYC Urban Resort would install a 123-room hotel, a large dance club, a spa and a restaurant at West 42nd Street between Tenth and Eleventh avenues. The bar is on track for a Spring opening, while developers hope to open the rest of the resort by 2011.
"We wanted to open in New York City because it is a cosmopolitan and opened minded city, " said Silvia Perez, marketing manager for Axel Hotels, the Spanish company eyeing the location for a boutique property. "The gay community love going to this kind of city."
One of the hotel's trademarks, according to Perez, is signs that clients can leave on their door, a choice between two - "Do Not Disturb" or "Please Disturb."
The dance bar, called XL, which will fill a two-floor basement space cleared a hurdle last week when it got its liquor license approved by Community Board 4's Business Licenses & Permits North committee.
The part-owner of XL, John Blair, also runs other nightclubs throughout the city, such as Splash Bar on West 17th Street in Chelsea.
Surrounding residents, weary of nightclub ventures in the neighborhood, had initially shown resistance to the dance bar. But when it came time for the public hearing, many said they now had a tentative trust in Blair to run the bar in a neighborhood-friendly manner.
