Hyatt Hotels & Resorts and Chesapeake Lodging Trust (NYSE:CHSP) announced today the anticipated October 2014 opening of Hyatt Herald Square New York, a new, 122-room hotel located at the epicenter of Midtown Manhattan’s vibrant Herald Square neighborhood. Inspired by the area’s rich publishing history and neighboring Fashion District, the hotel is slated to introduce new concepts in design, dining, service, and amenities. 
“Herald Square was once home to the now defunct New York Herald Tribune, hence its namesake,” said Candice Cancino, general manager of Hyatt Herald Square New York. “It was an industrial area, but an important piece of New York City history. With the help of the Fashion District, our neighbor to the north, we found a way to celebrate that rich history and retell the area’s story through the use of fun and imaginative design elements, food and beverage offerings, services, and amenities.”
Design and Guestrooms
Located on West 31st Street between 5th Avenue and Broadway, the building housing Hyatt Herald Square New York has been reimagined by famed interior designers Paul Vega and Vennie Lau of VLDG INC, who studied the history of Herald Square to procure the design elements and palettes for the hotel’s lobby, hallways, guestrooms, and rooftop.
Throughout the hotel, guests will note the use of high pops of colors, varied textures, custom fabrics, letterpress blocks, and other nuanced details. The free-flowing lobby, adorned with the artwork of nine local artists, will serve as its own destination. Designed to evoke the feel of a grand living room, the lobby will feature themed areas including a library-inspired lounge with comfortable seating and well-appointed bookshelf, a lively espresso bar with café counter, a separate seating area with writers tables, an on-site market for on-the-go snacks, and a vibrant bar area with private dining space. Upon arrival, hotel ambassadors will personally greet each guest, inviting them to explore the lobby or head to their guestroom. A dedicated concierge desk located toward the back of the lobby will also help expedite guest arrivals and any special requests.
The guestrooms will reconcile the area’s industrial past with more fanciful design elements. All rooms will have matte hardwood flooring, yet the custom casegoods will include a pop of muted hot pink. As a nod to both the publishing and fashion industries, an in-room letterpress block feature will include a quote from famed fashion designer, Coco Chanel. Letterpress blocks will also be used to indicate the room numbers on all 122 guestrooms, including one grand suite located on the 18th floor. All rooms will additionally feature retail-inspired open armoires, corner desks that double as vanities, and patterned couches with multi-textured throw pillows. The newly updated bathrooms will include stand-in showers and C.O. Bigelow amenities.
Dining
For food and beverage, hotel guests and visitors will enjoy three options. The hotel’s coffee bar, Espresso, boasting locally roasted gourmet beans from Stone Street Coffee Company, will offer a wide variety of barista-prepared espresso, coffee, and specialty drinks, as well as freshly baked pastries from local bakeries. The intimate lobby bar and restaurant, aptly named The Den, will feature a casual bistro menu. With emphasis on simple, market fresh ingredients, the menu will offer seasonal dishes in three sizes – large bites, light bites, and even lighter bites – making The Den an ideal option for meals, group sharing, or a quick bite on the go. The bar will also feature a dedicated cocktail menu with seasonally inspired drinks and creatively infused spirits, some of which will be made in-house. The hotel’s rooftop lounge, Up on 20, offering stunning views of the midtown skyline, as well as both the Empire State Building and Freedom Tower, will offer cocktails and the hotel’s small plates menu.
“Herald Square is one of the most energetic neighborhoods in New York City, and we’re looking forward to introducing business and leisure travelers to a hotel befitting of the area and its iconic sites,” said President and CEO of Chesapeake James Francis. “We want to offer guests a sense of arrival from the moment they step through our doors, an understanding that they are experiencing something special and different, and we are confident we will accomplish that with the opening of Hyatt Herald Square New York.”
The term “Hyatt” is used in this release for convenience to refer to Hyatt Hotels Corporation and/or one or more of its affiliates.
About Hyatt Herald Square
With its proximate location to both Herald Square and the Garment District, Hyatt Herald Square New York will celebrate two of New York City’s most important industries – fashion and publishing. This theme is incorporated in every aspect of the hotel from the interior design by Paul Vega of VLDG INC, to the guestrooms, dining concept, lobby lounge, and other amenities. A fusion of industrial sophistication and fashion-forward flare, Hyatt Herald Square New York features 122 rooms and one grand suite, as well as a free-flowing lobby lounge with a living-room type feel (Library Lounge); a restaurant and bar (The Den); an espresso bar (Espresso); and a stunning rooftop bar (Up on 20) with views of the Empire State Building and surrounding midtown skyline, all of which offer local cuisine and seasonal menus of creative cocktails and market fresh dishes. A neighborhood gem, Hyatt Herald Square New York will cater to both leisure guests and locals, and will be conveniently located just steps away from word-class dining, shopping and entertainment, including the Empire State Building, Broadway Theater District, Madison Square Garden, flagship Macy’s department store, and Times Square. Find them on Facebook and their website.
About Hyatt
Hyatt hotels are smaller-sized properties conveniently located in diverse business and leisure areas. With hotels typically ranging from 150 to 350 rooms, Hyatt hotels offer guests the opportunity to experience our hospitality in a vibrant environment. Customers include individual business and leisure travelers, and Hyatt hotels can accommodate smaller scale business meetings and social gatherings.
About Chesapeake Lodging Trust
Chesapeake Lodging Trust is a self-advised lodging real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on investments primarily in upper-upscale hotels in major business and convention markets and, on a selective basis, premium select-service hotels in urban settings or unique locations in the United States. The Trust owns 20 hotels with an aggregate of 5,932 rooms in eight states and the District of Columbia. Additional information can be found on the Trust’s website at www.chesapeakelodgingtrust.com.
About Real Hospitality Group
Real Hospitality Group (RHG) is headquartered in Ocean City, MD with a regional office in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, and comprises a team with more than 400 years of combined hospitality and travel industry experience. The Real Hospitality Group portfolio includes 51 hotel properties with an inventory of more than 6,715 rooms in gateway cities that include New York, Philadelphia and locations in Morgantown, West Virginia as well as Glens Falls, Montauk, New York and Ocean City, MD. The company is a recognized service provider for Marriott, Hilton, Starwood, Hyatt, Wyndham, IHG, and the Choice Hotels brands as well as a collection of unique independent hotels. RHG focuses on total service property management, revenue performance, guest satisfaction and business development for hotels, resorts and investment ownership groups. For more information, please visit the company website at www.realhospitalitygroup.com.
About Hyatt Hotels Corporation
Hyatt Hotels Corporation, headquartered in Chicago, is a leading global hospitality company with a proud heritage of making guests feel more than welcome. Thousands of members of the Hyatt family strive to make a difference in the lives of the guests they encounter every day by providing authentic hospitality. The Company’s subsidiaries manage, franchise, own and develop hotels and resorts under the Hyatt®, Park Hyatt®, Andaz®, Grand Hyatt®, Hyatt Regency®, Hyatt Place®, Hyatt House®, Hyatt Zilara™and Hyatt Ziva™ brand names and have locations on six continents. Hyatt Residential Group, Inc., a Hyatt Hotels Corporation subsidiary, develops, operates, markets or licenses Hyatt Residences® and Hyatt Residence Club®. As of June 30, 2014, the Company’s worldwide portfolio consisted of 563 properties in 48 countries. For more information, please visit www.hyatt.com.
