Assouline’s Latest, Hotel Esencia, Is Feted With a Buzzy Book Party

Mexico's Riviera Maya descended on New York City Monday night. Kevin Wendle, the noted entrepreneur and art collectsor, celebrated the 10th anniversary of Hotel Esencia. In 2014, Wendle purchased and transformed the 40-room property off the Caribbean Sea. In the years since, jet setters and tastemakers flocked to Esencia, formerly the private hideaway of Italian Duchess Rosa de Ferrari.

To mark the occasion, Assouline released a brilliant coffee table book. Prosper, Martine, and Alexandre Assouline joined Wendle in hosting festivities at the Petzel Gallery. Surrounded by contemporary art, attendees savored LALO tequila (the recent cocktail of choice at Manhattan’s soirees) and listened to music by Michel Gaubert. The cast of characters was as chic and eccentric as expected: Justin Theroux, Clive Davis, Don Lemon, Martha Hunt, and Linda Fargo among them.

Wendle announced plans for Esencia's inaugural outpost: Château de Curzay in the lush Poitou region of France. The historic estate, as grand and romantic as its predecessor, promises to be just as captivating.