As 2018 draws to a close and 2019 approaches, it’s time to look forward to the new year and all the exciting hotels that are slated to open. Los Angeles will be a hotbed of hotel activity next year. But even the City of Angels’ tally pales in comparison to the Big Apple.
New York City will see over a dozen hotels open their doors for the first time in the new year, including everything from major chains to boutique one-offs and even an aviation-themed beauty. No matter what your taste, there are going to be interesting accommodations to satisfy it next year. Here’s a quick look at eight of the most exciting hotels that will open in New York City in 2019.
1. EDITION Times Square: February 2019
Ian Schrager’s swanky brand-within-a-brand under the Marriott umbrella is opening a second New York City location in February. This stylish stunner will include 27 floors in a new tower on the corner of 47th Street and 7th Avenue, right near its namesake, Times Square. It will include 452 rooms and suites, a 5,000-square-foot performance venue and cabaret, a sprawling fitness center and a signature restaurant that includes a 5,800-square foot beer garden and event deck overlooking Times Square. The hotel’s all-day dining venue will also offer outdoor terraces with views if that’s more your speed.
2. Sister City: February 2019
Sister City is the new brand from the folks behind hipster hotel chain, The Ace. Set to open along the Bowery on the Lower East Side in February, the brand’s philosophy is “a hotel distilled to its most beautiful, working parts,” and will display a pared-down aesthetic that alludes to inspirations as diverse as Finnish saunas, Japanese bento boxes, prehistoric cliff dwellings and American composer John Cage’s 4’33” composition. The hotel will have just 200 rooms, a ground-floor restaurant called Floret and overseen by chef Joe Ogrondek (of Battersby fame), and a rooftop bar.
3. TWA Hotel at New York JFK: Spring 2019
Aviation geeks around the world have been eagerly anticipating the long-awaited opening of this airport hotel, inspired by and recreating the glamor of the Jet Age. The TWA Hotel will make its home in the former TWA Terminal at New York JFK Airport this spring, which was originally designed by visionary architect Eero Saarinen and opened in 1962. The hotel will include 468 guestrooms and 44 suites. Its lobby will be 200,000 square feet and will include a museum devoted to TWA and the history of aviation. Guests should enjoy the expansive rooftop deck and pool with runway views. The six restaurants and eight bars will include the Paris Café from celebrity chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten and a cocktail bar inside a refurbished TWA Lockheed Constellation.
4. Renaissance New York Chelsea Hotel: April 2019
Architect Nobutaka Ashihara is certainly going to leave a mark on New York City in the coming years with the construction of several new hotels, many of which will open this coming year. The first will be this new Marriott property, set to debut early in the spring. Interiors will be handled by design firm Stonehill Taylor, which is also overseeing several other projects with Marriott in town. The design elements here will include allusions to the area’s past, with nods to the flea markets that could once be found here as well as the garment industry. The hotel will also feature a garden terrace and a rooftop lounge to take advantage of prime city views from what will be one of the tallest towers in the area.
5. Hotel Hendricks: Mid-2019
Midtown is becoming a mecca for hotels these days, and will be the setting for this new entrant from the Fortuna Realty Group, which also owns other luxury boutique hotels in the city such as the Hotel Hayden and the Hotel Hugo (notice a theme here?). This one will have 176 rooms in a 25-story tower also designed by architect Nobutaka Ashihara on West 38th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues. Marcello Pozzi’s interior designs will incorporate elements like polished copper and brass fixtures, mahogany furniture, pastel accents and exposed concrete for a comfortable but edgy look. Among the dining outlets will be a ground-floor lobby eatery, an indoor-outdoor bar and the rooftop Cherry Bar for panoramic views.
6. MOXY East Village: Fall 2019
Marriott’s upscale-budget, millennial-driven label will open a new 286-room location near NYU in the fall. The edifice is a 13-story tower designed by architecture firm Stonehill Taylor, while interiors will be overseen by Rockwell Group. The guiding concept is “urban archaeology,” where each floor will represent a different period of Lower Manhattan’s history, all layered on top of one another like a vertical timeline. Expect an emphasis on technological amenities, cultural and fitness programming, and an overriding focus on the public spaces, including a lobby bar and lounge, a grab-and-go counter, an outdoor rooftop space and a cellar-level restaurant.
7. Equinox Hotel: 2019
With the tagline, “Where the science of fitness meets the art of travel,” you can bet that this new foray into hospitality from gym chain Equinox is going to have some of the best marketing in the industry. The hotel will take up residence in a soaring tower in the $25 billion Hudson Yards development and will target the same upscale, health-driven demographic as the fitness chain that owns it. Don’t expect to find sweaty equipment in your accommodations. Instead, guests can access to the hotel’s 60,000-square-foot fitness center (Equinox’s largest) and a slew of wellness-focused offerings, including healthy in-room dining and an on-property spa, to help them stay fit while on the road.
8. CR7 By Pestana Hotel: 2019
CR7 is a collaboration between Portuguese hotel chain Pestana and soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. The lifestyle brand is defined by seven pillars aimed at attracting a young, adventurous demographic, and currently comprises two properties, one in Lisbon and the other in Funchal. The U.S. flagship will be this New York location near Times Square on W. 39th Street. It will have 177 guestrooms, including six with their own private terraces, a breakfast area, and, of course, a fitness center.
