Marriott International has completed the $100 million renovation of the 256-guestroom W New York – Union Square. In a full-circle moment, the company tapped Rockwell Group, the firm behind the hotel’s original debut in 2001, to lead the project. David Rockwell and his team incorporated the textures and tones of Union Square Park for the building’s aesthetic.
The property is housed in the former Guardian Life Building, a Beaux-Arts style property completed in 1911. The historic architecture has been maintained, most notably in the Living Room, the brand’s take on the hotel lobby. Inspired in part by Grand Central Station, the space has high ceilings and intricate moldings.
The hotel’s grand staircase got a new carpet that appears to drip with abstract colors. The first level also has black-and-white houndstooth banquette welcome desks and an original mural by artist Shantell Martin.
At the top of the curved staircase is the Living Room Café, the first of its kind for W Hotels, which goes from coffee bar during the day to cocktail bar at night. The hotel’s former ballroom was turned into the Living Room, with original white marble columns, Corinthian capitals and high ceilings with carved rosettes. The space uses a palette of greens and blues accented by velvet benches, petal-inspired chandeliers and a double-height bar with real botanicals cast in resin.
Guestrooms
Using a nature-inspired palette of greens, oranges, and grays, the guestrooms evoke Union Square Park through botanical carpeting, curved lacquered walls, ombre wallpaper, drapery and burnt-orange velvet headboards. The rooms also have rounded, hunter-green tufted couches and circular bronze tables.
Custom light fixtures pay tribute to subway entry lamps and bike chains, while the nightstands were inspired by the “Metronome”-esque art installation on Union Square South. The side tables have chessboard patterns and bathrooms have grid-line-inspired tiling.
Seahorse Brasserie
Opening this fall, Seahorse is a seafood brasserie from restaurateur John McDonald and Mercer Street Hospitality – the team behind Lure Fishbar, Bowery Meat Company, Bar Mercer and Cha Cha Tang.
Accessible via its own entrance off a corner of Park Ave South, as well as through the hotel, the 125-seat dining room was also designed by Rockwell Group with mother-of-pearl inlays, mermaid green tile, yacht-style wood finishes and a central seafood bar. A hand-painted mural by Brooklyn’s En Viu adds depth and atmosphere while paying homage to the city's own seafaring history.
Rooftop Bar
The property also has Union Square’s only rooftop bar, an indoor/outdoor space designed by AvroKO, the design studio behind W Prague, W Hoboken and W Florence. The bar’s aesthetic draws from the art-meets-nightlife institutions such as Andy Warhol’s Factory and Max’s Kansas City, once located just around the corner. The rooftop’s concrete floor pattern echoes the large-scale design of the park below.
New Gym
The hotel’s former subterranean bar has been turned into the gym with the brand’s first in-hotel Peloton Studio, offering five bikes available for guests. With elongated corridors, striped carpeting and a woven “14” design, the FIT studio has green and yellow mosaic tile and rubberized flooring. The recovery zone has hydro-massage chairs.
Meetings and Events
W New York – Union Square has 2,587 square feet of meeting and event space. The Studio rooms are furnished with Herman Miller pieces, custom carpets and textured fabrics.