Opening in early December, Hyatt Times Square New York is a new-build hotel with 487 rooms and 2,400 square feet of meeting and banquet space connected to a 1,400-square-foot terrace. Its rooftop bar on the hotel's 54th floor will be the highest in the city and have views of the Hudson River, the Freedom Tower, the New Year's Eve ball, and other landmarks. It has seating for 80 inside and 65 outside. The street-level restaurant, a diner concept called T45, seats 90 and will serve three meals with vegetarian and gluten-free dishes. The restaurant, from George Wong Design, also has its own photo booth.
The French-American restaurant Villard Michel Richard opened in the New York Palace hotel in October, marking the Washington, D.C.-based chef's first venture in the city. Located in the historic Villard Mansion, the restaurant takes over the space that once housed Gilt and before that Le Cirque 2000. Designed by Jeffrey Beers, the ornate space combines the landmarked interiors while mixing in elements such as oversize portraits of classic Hollywood stars and a "wine cube," a climate-controlled glass-walled room in the middle of the dining room. The main dining room seats 110 and the Gallery 50.
The luxury hotel Viceroy New York opened in October in Midtown, the first Manhattan property for Viceroy Hotel Group. The 240-room hotel, with interiors from Roman and Williams, offers several spaces for events including a meeting room that holds 60 at rounds, a 14-person boardroom, and a library in the back of its double-height lobby. The hotel's restaurant, Kingside, is a 104-seat, street-level New American concept from chef Marc Murphy and the nightlife firm Gerber Group, which will also open a rooftop lounge later in the year.
The meatpacking district's Bar Naná opened in September, offering a sleek space with creative cocktails and a light menu of South American-inspired dishes. The concept opened during Fashion Week, and, fittingly, staff wear uniforms by designer Olivier Theyskens. The venue seats 100 for a buffet-style dinner or holds about 200 for receptions.
Novotel New York finished an $85 million renovation in September that revamped its 480 guest rooms and created a new lobby, meeting space, comfort food restaurant SuperNova, and 5,700-square-foot outdoor lounge on the seventh floor that overlooks Times Square and is available for private events. The hotel has two rooms for small meetings—one for 10 people and the other for 12—that both come with audiovisual equipment.
Paige Hospitality Group opened the Chester inside the Gansevoort Meatpacking NYC hotel in September. The American eatery seats 150 across two levels inside and another 150 outside. Design touches include antique subway-tiled walls in the main dining room and walnut tabletops and olive leather couches in the mezzanine level. The Chester also provides food for the hotel's room service, banquets, and Plunge Rooftop Bar & Lounge.
The nightclub and lounge Tokya opened in late October in Midtown, offering 3-D projection mapping throughout the space that can be customized for private events. Guests enter the 6,000-square-foot club from a gold tufted staircase that descends onto the mezzanine level overlooking the dance floor. Bryan Dodson of Integrated Visions Production created the projection mapping, while the sound system comes from QSC. The look of the club is modern Japanese, with a red, black, white, and gold color scheme. The club holds 200 people and has two V.I.P. spaces, a den on the lower level for 40 people, and an upstairs space for 75 that is lined with white couches and has its own DJ booth and sound system.
The Upper West Side restaurant Domain NYC, which opened September 1, offers several spaces for private events. The first floor seats 30 for dinner and has a chef's table in the back for 12. The entire second floor hosts receptions for 200 or seated dinners for 50. A heated patio hosts dinners for eight. A private dining room on the third floor seats eight. Partial and full buyouts are available.
New to the meatpacking district is 14th Street Loft, a production space that was renovated in September. The 5,000-square-foot open floor plan can be used for private events of 200 people or for print and commercial advertising shoots. The design features wooden columns, exposed brick, and large windows with natural light; the space also includes a kitchen, greenroom, and space for hair and makeup.
The Winslow, a modern public house with a particular focus on gin, opened in September in the East Village. Along with a menu of seasonal British food, the bar offers gins from around the world, homemade flavored tonics, as well as 20 beers on tap. The venue offers multiple HD TVs that can be hidden when not in use, as well as a 20-foot front bar with a chalk-white concrete top, high seating, and a back bar embellished with fumed oak and blackened steel. The space is available for private events of as many as 75 people.
The new Extreme Wow Suite at the W New York—Times Square is a high-energy party venue. The hotel suite is designed to double as a reception space with room for 85 guests spread over its 1,200 square feet. Much of the furniture has double uses, such as the mirrored console in the entry that functions as a DJ booth and a buffet in the boardroom that is also a bar. The design reflects the Times Square location with features such as a light fixture that looks like a deconstructed Times Square mirror ball, bar glasses decorated with peep-show performers, custom wallpaper of images of Broadway ticket stubs, and framed art featuring Elmo and other costumed characters. Located on the 57th floor, the suite offers views of Times Square, Central Park, and the Hudson River. The suite connects to a double room that serves as a staging area, and catering is available from Blue Fin, the hotel's restaurant.
With everything inside the Minus5 Ice Bar made, appropriately, of ice, the chilly venue makes sense as a holiday party venue. The bar, which opened in July, has hand-carved ice sculptures that depict New York icons such as the Statue of Liberty and Central Park and will update them with seasonal carvings, corporate logos, or other images for private events. As the name suggests, the interior temperature stays at minus 5 degrees Celsius (29 degrees Fahrenheit). Located on the lobby level of the New York Hilton Midtown but with its own street entrance, the venue holds about 60 guests and has a 10-person V.I.P. room.
Michelin-starred chef Paul Liebrandt opened the Elm, a contemporary French restaurant, at King & Grove hotel in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn in July. The buzzy restaurant, with an interior from Parts and Labor Design, features a living green wall, exposed beams, and polished concrete. The dining room and bar seat 73, and a private dining room seats 20. In the fall, the restaurant will offer an eight-seat chef’s counter adjacent to the open kitchen that serves a multicourse tasting menu.
Malbec and Tango House opened this summer in NoHo. Available for buyout, Malbec offers two levels of event space. The main level has a 65-seat restaurant and wine bar, and a 70-seat wine bar is downstairs. The floors are attached to Tango House, a theater space that used to be a 1920s cabaret. Architect Orestes Gonzalez designed the venues; highlights include a glass-enclosed wine cellar and a wall of wine corks in the dining room, plus a graffiti mural of the word "Tango" from artist Meres One of 5Pointz in Tango House.
For a downtown party, GoldBar offers a chic lounge in NoLIta with 12-foot vaulted ceilings adorned with gold leaf and crystal chandeliers. The space is divided into two sections: a front area with the bar and high-top tables and the main room with banquettes, cocktail tables, and 2,900 gold-plated skulls lining the walls (they can be covered with gold-hued curtains for the less adventurous). The 2,500-square-foot space accommodates 175 people and includes a DJ booth, V.I.P. space, and kitchen.
Andaz Wall Street reopened its Concourse Level—home to event facilities, meeting rooms, and a spa and fitness center— this month after damage from Hurricane Sandy forced it to close. The renovation expanded the level to 7,000 square feet from 4,000 square feet, allowing the hotel to host larger events. The 4,700-square-foot Gallery room holds as many as 450 people and can be subdivided into four smaller spaces. A newly remodeled open kitchen can serve as pre-function and breakaway space. Three new event spaces called Stock, Bond, and Exchange range from 740 to 1,900 square feet and come with LCD TVs, open pantries with personal espresso machines, and audiovisual equipment. The hotel's spa was also renovated.
Atop the 12-story NoMad Hotel, the rooftop offers all-weather event space with views of the Empire State Building. The rooftop has an 850-square-foot indoor space that can seat 40 banquet-style, 50 theater-style, or 75 for receptions. On the northwest corner, a restored turn-of-the-century cupola can seat 10 for private dinners. In warmer months, the hotel offers its 1,100-square-foot outdoor space for events of as many as 105 people. The rooftop has its own full kitchen.
Chef David Santos, a veteran of Per Se and Bouley, has opened Louro, which means "bay leaf" in Portuguese. The globally influenced menu includes dishes such as lamb neck rillette with Portuguese kimchi; roasted heirloom carrot salad with toasted miso, and octopus Bolognese with house-cured goose pancetta. The neutral-toned interior features white walks and dark leather banquettes, as well as minimalist chandeliers from designer Zach Bliss. The dining room seats 55, while the white marble-topped bar seats 12. Semiprivate dining at a 14-seat communal table in the rear of the restaurant is available.
The Hyatt Union Square, a 178-room hotel, opened in June. The new-build hotel sits behind a restored two-story limestone façade and offers several spaces for events. At 1,400 square feet, Singl is a spacious lobby-level bar that also serves small plates. The two-level restaurant the Fourth, an American brasserie from One Five Hospitality, seats 100 in the dining room and has a 45-person private dining room.
The Garden City Hotel on Long Island debuted a renovated grand ballroom in June. The nearly 6,000-square-foot space includes ornate touches such as golf leaf on the ceiling and crystal chandeliers. The hotel also added new carpeting that extends to reception spaces, Versailles-style chairs, and new tabletop items. The ballroom seats 500 guests and can be divided. Overall, the hotel has 25,000 square feet of meeting space among its 16 function rooms.
