As part of a larger, $130 million renovation program, the Grand Hyatt New York launched its new meeting and event venue yesterday. The site, known as the Gallery on Lex, is billed by the Grand Central-adjacent hotel as a social meeting space and is designed to be a creative, sleek alternative to traditional boardrooms. Architectural firm Bentel & Bentel, the hospitality design company known for its modernist aesthetic, is responsible for the look of Gallery on Lex and furnished it with a neutral palette, custom seating, and mod fixtures from Lukas Lighting.
Measuring 4,400 square feet, Gallery on Lex sits in the lobby-level spot recently occupied by the hotel's restaurant Commodore Grill and offers an airy entrance lounge replete with comfy leather chairs and the colorful modern artwork of Burghard Müller-Dannhausen. Inside, the residential-style main space is centered around a communal kitchen, where a long high-top table, bar, and food prep station are designed to promote networking and act as a central gathering point and more casual dining area. The section is flanked by two lounges, each furnished with banquettes and chairs upholstered in warm silver-toned leather and bars appointed with countertop cooking equipment.
The east and west ends of the space are the most versatile and can be used for formal seated functions, corporate presentations, or extensions of the lounge and kitchen areas for larger cocktail receptions. The sections are equipped with drop-down screens and can be fully enclosed by air walls.
Gallery on Lex holds about 110 seated or as many as 250 for receptions. It can also be used in conjunction with the hotel's other meeting and events spaces, including the 5,000-square-foot Manhattan Ballroom, which is also on the lobby level.
