NATIONAL REPORT—A number of hotel projects are in the works, including a hotel inspired by New York City’s theater district, a music-centric hotel underway in California’s wine country, and more. Here’s a closer look:
Olio Slated to Open in 2020 in NYC’s Theater District
Rockwell Group revealed plans for a May 2020 opening of Olio, a 27-story, 116-room hotel located on West 48th St. near 8th Ave. in the heart of New York’s theater district. Olio will feature a first-of-its-kind curated art program with permanent and rotating works of art by emerging and established theater creatives.
Both in name and design, Olio references Broadway’s iconic theaters, with marquee inspired lighting, dramatic curtains, transformative set and stage-like elements, raw industrial materials reminiscent of backstage life and dressing room-inspired guestrooms. Olio is a natural continuum of Rockwell Group’s diverse portfolio of work designing lauded hotels, restaurants, cultural, and performing arts institutions, as well as set designs for more than 60 shows both on and off Broadway.
Reverb by Hard Rock to Set Up Shop in California
Reverb by Hard Rock is revving up with its second select-service property, Reverb by Hard Rock Sonoma Wine Country, slated to open in summer of 2020. The property will join the inaugural Reverb by Hard Rock Atlanta, which is scheduled to open earlier next year.
Located in northern California, the 150-room hotel will have indoor and outdoor areas that allow guests to relax while they experience the local music scene. As part of its signature motto to be a music lovers’ sanctuary, every aspect of the hotel will be designed for the fan, along with showcasing the city’s eclectic musical background and first-class wine offerings.
Four Seasons to Enter New Orleans
Construction has commenced on The Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences New Orleans, which is the transformation of one of the city’s most recognizable and iconic towers into a premier residential address, serviced by New Orleans’s upcoming five-star hotel.
Rising 33 stories at the foot of Canal St., on two acres of prime Mississippi River waterfront in Downtown New Orleans a few steps from the French Quarter, the former World Trade Center tower at 2 Canal St. was designed by the celebrated Modernist architect Edward Durell Stone (whose iconic buildings include New York’s GM Building, Radio City Music Hall and the Museum of Modern Art).
It will be one of the largest Four Seasons hotels—341 keys—in the hospitality brand’s genre-defining portfolio, indicative of the city’s decade-long economic surge and the high level of demand for luxury lodging and residential property in New Orleans.
Rosen Hotels & Resorts Consolidates Two Hotels
Rosen Hotels & Resorts has consolidated two of its adjoining hotels in Orlando’s International Dr. convention and tourist district, expanding amenities for guests. The 134-room Midpointe Hotel has become a 356-room property with the addition of 222 rooms at the former Clarion Inn & Suites at International Dr.
Acquired by Rosen Hotels & Resorts in late 2017, both properties are adjacent to the 1,334-room Rosen Centre, which has 150,000 sq. ft. of versatile meeting and event space and is connected to the Orange County Convention Center via a covered pedestrian skybridge.
