In the past two years, hotelier Sean MacPherson has seen two consecutive hotel openings: the 2014 debut of the 175-key Ludlow on the Lower East Side and his 2013 delivery of the 107-room Marlton in the Greenwich Village.

And though this may be the first time in years he’s not in construction, MacPherson is still keeping busy these days.

As he pokes around for his next hotel project, next month sees the opening of Joe Bastianich and Mario Batali’s 250-seat La Sirena eatery in Chelsea’s Maritime Hotel, which MacPherson opened in 2003.

We caught up with MacPherson to discuss what keeps hotels relevant and the key NYC neighborhoods-to-watch for hotel development.

La Sirena is opening because the neighborhood has grown since The Maritime debuted in 2003, and it felt right to move with the times. We jumped ahead of the curve by building a hotel and restaurant (in Chelsea) when we did, but the surroundings moved beyond where we were. To forge ahead, we chose Joe and Mario because they’re real New York characters. They’re large operators, but they maintain a passion that comes through.

Different hotels last for different reasons. There are classics, like The Plaza and The Carlyle, that become intertwined with the culture and history of the city. For instance, The Plaza is everyone’s acquaintance. We all know it’s reliable, and we all know we can go there and get a quintessentially New York experience.

When it comes to newer hotels, those that last are the ones whose teams care about them. It’s easy to sense whether those in charge really care about the entity as an entity, or if they’re only in it to get a return. For example, when Amanresorts founder Adrian Zecha created the early Aman properties, you could feel his sensibilities pulsating through. They were contemporary, chic and personal. It was the kind of product that only an individual could create.

The Financial District is an interesting neighborhood for hotel development.

It’s downtown and many trains get to it. But there’s a ways to go in terms of all the services being there.

I also like the Rockaways. I grew up in Los Angeles, and the Rockaways always reminded me of Venice, Calif., which I watched evolve into a viable place.

There are differences, but it’s on the ocean and it’s a subway ride away from Manhattan. There’s something special about that.

There’s nowhere in Manhattan I wouldn’t open a hotel.

You’re always five to 10 minutes away from something great, and there’s probably something wonderful even closer that you don’t know about.