Regent Hotels Gains Prime NY Location

NEW YORK? Regent International Hotels solidified a deal for a location in the heart of New York City?s financial center last month. The move is key to the luxury brand?s strategic growth plan to gain locations in key urban destinations. The deal calls for Regent to transform an historic landmark into a 140-room luxury hotel at 55 Wall Street, which will be called the Regent Wall Street when it opens this summer after an $80 million redevelopment. The property will be New York?s first hotel on Wall Street and marks the ninth new property added to the brand since Regent was acquired by Carlson in November 1997. The new project reflects a major step in establishing the Regent name globally, said Paul Hanley, president of Regent International Hotels. The brand has been aggressively pursuing urban locations over the last year, during which time it also added The Regent Grand Spa at The Resort At Summerlin in Las Vegas and The Regent Vancouver. ?It represents a 100% growth of the Regent brand,? he said. ?What we set as a two-year goal we?ve achieved in just 15 months.? Owner and developer of the site, SK 55 Wall L.L.C., will play a small role in the redevelopment of the property in conjunction with Regent, which will act as manager of the hotel. The historic structure was originally built in 1842 as the Merchant?s Exchange by architect Isaiah Rogers, received a nine-story tower in 1908 designed by McKim, Mead and White, and will be redesigned by New York City-based M/G Architects, with interiors by Hablinski Interiors of Santa Monica, CA as well as Texas-based Wilson & Associates. Plans call for the exterior to retain its Greek Revival design, complete with massive Monolithic columns that frame the hotel?s entrance. The interiors will reflect the strong Italian Revival architecture found throughout New York City. Oversized guestrooms, including three luxury suites, will occupy the upper floors of the hotel and range in size from 525 square feet to 900 square feet. Each will feature a classic Italian ambiance with high ceilings, rich fabrics, and marble bathrooms. As with all Regent hotels, every room will feature 24-hour room service, twice-daily housekeeping service, complete laundry service, and 24-hour concierge staff. In addition, rooms will have a built-in safe, refrigerated private bar, cable TV, WebTV and computer hook-up capability. Features, Amenities Regent will be an attractive target for business travelers and groups visiting the New York area as well. The hotel will offer a 34,000-square-foot Grand Ballroom and additional meeting space. The ballroom will feature 254 octagonal recessed coffers, an elliptical dome with 16 Wedgewood panels and a 2,700-pound chandelier. Three additional boardrooms totaling 4,000 square feet will be available for meetings of any size. All of the hotel?s dining and entertainment facilities will be managed by Regent. Food and beverage venues will include a 70-seat fine-dining restaurant that will feature Southern French Mediterranean cuisine open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. A fourth-floor lounge will offer light fare including European continental breakfast and afternoon tea. A 4,000-square-foot spa will act as a major draw for leisure travelers. A full range of fitness and spa treatments will be available at the indoor facility. The addition of the spa to the New York property is in keeping with Regent?s strategy to integrate incremental upscale services into the brand concept to give it value-added appeal, a concept that will be copied at all new Regent hotels.