SH Group, the hotel brand management arm of Starwood Capital Group, announced today the opening of 1 Hotel Central Park. This is the second property for the recently launched 1 Hotels, and the first in New York City.
Known for his innovations, Sternlicht developed the brand with goals of upending the world of hospitality through a socially and environmentally conscious platform in celebration of the beauty and preservation of nature. 1 Hotels is trying to transform the typical experience of luxury hospitality to something meaningful and impactful that leaves guests feeling good.
A natural haven in the middle of Manhattan, 1 Hotel Central Park stands one block south from New York City’s largest green space, at the corner of 58th Street and Sixth Avenue. A true homage to Central Park with its ivy-covered facade, the hotel offers respite from busy New York life for visitors and the community.
“1 Hotels started from a simple belief: those who travel the world, care about it,” said SH group CEO and Chairman Barry Sternlicht. “I believe this hotel fills a void in the market and offers guests simply something they haven’t seen before. I’m proud to debut this mission-driven brand in New York City with 1 Hotel Central Park and look forward to delivering guests the best design, service, and amenities just 100 steps south of Central Park.”
In staying true to Sternlicht’s vision, 1 Hotels took great care to assemble a team of professionals and partners that share the brand’s natural ethos. Led by internal design team of Kemper Hyers, SH Group tapped popular New York-based AvroKO to design the hotel and restaurant, Damian Harris of Harrison Green for landscape design, AgroSci to create the hotel’s three-story exterior green wall, and Sprout Home provides green touches throughout the hotel, including Brooklyn Glass terrariums in guest rooms. Chef Jonathan Waxman is at the helm of the signature restaurant, Jams, as well as room service and on-site catering.
“It is sometimes said that ‘green’ design and luxury cannot co-exist. We were excited to take on that stereotype and attempt to disrupt the thinking about environmentally-conscious venues,” said Greg Bradshaw, one of the principals at AvroKO. “The natural and local materials emerged as the heart of the design allowing us to celebrate and enhance their inherent richness with minimal touches including a warm color palette and atmospheric lighting. Our goal was to leave the space feeling somewhat unadorned so the materials and core of the space could speak for itself.”
Nature-inspired interiors
Using the building’s original industrial architecture as a reference point, the design brings the outside in to feature the raw beauty and imperfections of natural materials. Source origin materials including woods, bricks, marble, stone and glass from local suppliers are blended with original riveted steel beams and concrete ceilings.
16,000 fallen twigs artfully embedded into two large steel doors welcome guests to the hotel, greeting them with nature from the moment they arrive. On every floor, unique artistic renditions of the floor numbers are revealed as the elevator doors open; each number is represented in a different design using repurposed materials, such as penny nails or acorns. Preserved moss fills hallway niches.
Guest rooms boast striking furniture made by local craftsmen, offset by a color palette of warm, neutral colors and accents of blues and creams. Select rooms feature reclaimed wooden timbers and window seats that extend from the building, allowing guests to perch above Manhattan streets, creating cozy corners for reading and daydreaming. Bathrooms are beautifully rendered in tactile natural materials such as Breccia Capraia marble, mushroom wood, concrete tiles and reclaimed brick with rustic copper fixtures and glass-enclosed Napa-style paned walk-in showers reminiscent of indoor greenhouses. Furnishings and infrastructure elements will adhere to green building and LEED standards.
Landscape design by Damien Harrison’s Harrison Green creates lush “green moments” thoughtfully placed around the hotel while AgroSci and its forward-thinking technology maintain the three-story living wall on the building’s exterior made of individually potted English Ivy plants. Brooklyn-based Sprout Home creates terrariums for each guest room, housed within uniquely shaped recycled studio glass from Brooklyn Glass.
Room to retreat and gather
The hotel features 229 guest rooms, including 22 suites and 1 Greenhouse Suite. Each room is equipped with Triple Clear Water filters in all taps, sinks and showers; state-of-the-art, energy-efficient heating and cooling systems; natural Keetsa hemp-blend mattresses; natural cotton towels, robes, socks, and linens; yoga mats for use with in-room programming; custom 1 Hotels products featuring naturally-derived ingredients with crisp, fresh scents of nature; and eco-friendly cleaning solvents. In addition, guests are provided with a Goodie Bag on arrival filled with seasonally inspired snacks curated by Chef Jonathan Waxman.
A paperless approach to the guest experience includes electronic check-in, bedside chalkboards in lieu of notepads, and an in-room Nexus device pre-loaded with newspapers, magazines, and the 1 Guide, the 1 Hotels app to control all aspects of the room, from television to communications and temperature. Complimentary high-speed Wi-Fi is provided along with concierge services, 24-hour in-room dining, access to a Tesla premium electric vehicle rides within a 15-block radius, complimentary valet for all electric vehicles for overnight guests, and complimentary bicycle valet parking.
A communal space on the second floor is available for guests to work or relax and enjoy a drink from Jams. Five private rooms are available for more formalized gatherings, meetings or private dining, accommodating groups of nine to 130. These rooms feature floor-to-ceiling windows showcasing natural light, millwork décor, individual sound systems, 55″ TVs, the latest technology for business needs, and interactive surfaces. Three of the rooms may be combined to form one large 600-square-foot space called the Great Lawn. Guests also have access to The Hive, a business area featuring two e-kiosks equipped with an iPad and printer.
Room to refuel
At 1 Hotel Central Park, ingredients come first. Celebrated chef Jonathan Waxman helms the hotel’s signature restaurant Jams, a modern recreation of the restaurant that first made his mark on the New York culinary scene. An open kitchen drives the energy of the room for breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. Set to open in late August, the 100-seat restaurant and bar offers local and seasonal cuisine featuring market-fresh, local and organic ingredients and purveyors. Napa-style paned windows overlook the bustling Sixth Avenue and quieter 58th street. The design highlights exposed brick, exposed mechanicals in the ceiling, natural light, reclaimed oak, a quarry stone bar floor, and a soap stone bar top, all of which are accented by a plum-colored palette.
Room to recharge
Guest will have 24-hour access to the Field House, a fitness center on the second floor featuring the latest fitness accessories and equipment with modern technology and self-powered machines such as Peloton Cycles, resistance treadmills and rowers, kettlebells, weighted exercise balls and more. The Field House overlooks 58th Street, is flooded with natural light and highlights a floor reclaimed from the University of Wisconsin basketball court.
Guests will be able to schedule personal training sessions in Central Park with the hotel’s partners at Spartan Fitness, tapping into their innovative approach to health and wellness.
1 Hotel Central Park follows the March 2015 opening of 1 Hotel South Beach and will soon be joined by 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge Park in 2016.
