Brightening on Broadway

Marriott Hotels & Resorts and Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. raised the curtain on Broadway, unveiling a multimillion dollar renovation of the brand’s flagship New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square. At the heart of the extensive renovation is the brand’s reinvented lobby, including two signature restaurants and lounges, where guests can work, socialize, relax, eat, and drink. The makeover also encompasses the hotel’s nearly 2,000 guestrooms and a new, high-tech 29,000-square-foot Broadway Ballroom. 

“Even though we celebrated the New York Marriott Marquis’ 25th anniversary last year, it feels like a brand new hotel opening,” says Mike Stengel, vice president, market general manager for Marriott International. “We still have the great staff and service our guests have come to know, but now it’s in a whole new setting. Our guests are thrilled with the transformation we’ve undergone this past year.”

Envisioned and created by the interior architecture and design firm ForrestPerkins of Washington, D.C., the hotel’s new interior and custom furnishings reflect the vibrancy and energy of New York City.

The renovated New York Marriott Marquis guestrooms feature custom furnishings with clean, crisp lines that enhance and accentuate the space of the room. Neutral colors of cocoa-brown, cream, and champagne prevail within guestrooms. Accent pin lighting is mounted on oversized headboards inlaid with nickel, meant to evoke a streetscape grid. High-definition televisions and desk consoles, pullout love seats, and new carpeting and curtains complete the new look. Enhancements to the bathrooms include spa shower curtains. More than 1,000 guestrooms have been totally redesigned, with the remainder to be completed by spring 2012.

Advertisement

The new restaurant and lounge, Crossroads – an American Kitchen and Bar, features a two-story mirrored spiral bar encircled with 11 high definition television screens. Surrounding the restaurant’s centerpiece is a mix of low sofas and comfortable armchairs accented by four waterfall towers. Crossroads also offers a more traditional seating area for more than 100 guests, surrounded by perforated panel screens that slide to accommodate private or more open events. Illuminated crystal light rods hang above, creating a linear feel, or a streetscape grid pattern.

The design of the new Broadway Lounge is inspired by New Year’s Eve and the traditional ball drop. Six spherical chandeliers, each with 234 shimmering clear glass balls, reflect Broadway’s bright lights and electronic billboards. Two-story arched glass windows give guests panoramic views of Times Square. The multi-level seating in the Broadway Lounge offers guests the choice to be in the middle of the action or enjoy privacy. The lounge is richly colored in deep turquoise, petrol blue, dark ginger, and grays.

The Broadway Ballroom seats up to 2,400 guests, with chandeliers in amorphous shapes that resemble a geode being sliced down the middle. The room’s “vanishing ceiling” in black allows it to be transformed in myriad ways for every type of occasion. The programmable chandeliers offer thousands of choices for customers, with color-changing LED technology.

Previous article60-Second Profile: Jeff Plamondon, Renaissance Newark Airport
Next articleThe Word Is Out