NEW YORK—Baccarat Hotel & Residences New York, the first hotel and global flagship for the 250-year-old Baccarat crystal brand, has opened here. Directly across the street from the Museum of Modern Art and steps away from Fifth Ave’s legendary shopping, the hotel occupies the first 12 floors of the split-level tower that rises 550 feet above West 53rd St. The lower levels of the hotel are veiled by a 125 ft. wide corrugated crystal-like curtain.
Baccarat Hotel & Residences New York features 114 guestrooms and suites, and French restaurant Chevalier, overseen by Michelin-starred Executive Chef Shea Gallante. New York restaurateur Charles Masson will curate style and service in Chevalier and in the hotel’s second-story lobby salons and bar. The Bar at Baccarat, just off the Grand Salon, features barrel-vaulted ceilings, a 60-ft. bar and an outdoor terrace overlooking the MoMA. The hotel also features a 50-ft. indoor pool, a fitness training facility and the first Spa de La Mer in the United States.
Paris-based interior design firm Gilles & Boissier led the creation of the hotel’s interiors. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill served as architects for the 50-story tower, while New York-based designer Tony Ingrao led the residential design. The tower’s 60 private residences are accessible through a separate entrance and will have access to all of the hotel’s amenities. Celebrated decorator Stephen Sills created the setting for the street-level Chevalier, which also has its own separate entrance.
“We are so thrilled to bring to life the new ‘House of Baccarat’—to take this legendary brand which has, for centuries, stood for perfection in crystal, and has never been compromised, to create its first modern lifestyle hotel masterpiece. I wanted to celebrate light, and to produce a hotel that glowed, and was shimmering, sensual, elegant but still functional, fun, comfortable and not overly formal,” said Barry Sternlicht, chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital Group, the parent of SH Group, a lifestyle hotel brand management company that will manage the hotel.
“We waited and believe we found the perfect location to launch our first hotel. Our designs pay respect to our neighbors in the property’s simple exterior, but we add great drama with other details, including a 4-ft.-high, always-burning fireplace, which represents the furnaces in our manufacturing facilities at Baccarat France,” Sternlict continued. “Entering the lobby, guests will be mesmerized by a 20-by-25-ft. wall adorned with more than 2,000 of Baccarat’s most iconic glasses, the Harcourt. Each custom-sized glass has been laid horizontally, and lit by an LED light to create a 24-hour light show. The hotel has every possible amenity a privileged client demands. Our goal is to offer perfection of service that matches Baccarat’s perfection in the production of crystal.”
The hotel will be led by General Manager Andrew Turner.
Baccarat S.A. is majority owned by Starwood Capital Group. Baccarat employs nearly 550 individuals at its factory in Baccarat France near the Alsace-Lorraine border. Baccarat is a storied luxury brand whose artisans have produced custom designs since King Louis XV founded the company in 1764.