The Fairmont Copley Plaza celebrated its Centennial on August 16, and begins its next century of service following a more than $20 million restoration and renovation. The makeover included all of the hotel’s guestrooms and suites, Fairmont Gold Lounge, the Lower Lobby meeting space and the addition of a new rooftop health club and Lobby Lounge. In addition, OAK Long Bar + Kitchen, Back Bay’s newest drinking and dining destination, also debuts at the hotel this summer.
The extensive renovation included all of the 383 guestrooms and suites and Fairmont Gold Lounge. The new rooms and guest corridors incorporate the marble colors and hues of the public space to bring elegant plum and blue color schemes into the guestrooms and suites. The effect in the guestrooms and corridors is a design palette of quiet sophistication that leverages the hotel’s rich history and Back Bay location while meeting the needs of today’s sophisticated traveler. The Fairmont Gold Lounge emulates the feeling of a Back Bay mansion with comfortably elegant, residential decor. The hotel has also introduced eight themed suites, which are mini-museums each celebrating one of the city’s iconic institutions. Suites include the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Pops, Boston Symphony Orchestra, The Freedom Trail, the JFK Library and Museum, Boston Public Library, The Museum of Science and The Catie Copley Suite.
The hotel’s Lower Lobby Meeting space has been completely renovated into a new state-of-the-art conference facility, featuring built in A/V and technology capabilities, complemented by rich wood paneling. The five meeting rooms comprise 5,600 square feet of function space and feature ergonomic conference chairs, new conference tables and built in buffets.
Comprised of more than 3,000 square feet, the new Rooftop Health Club features state of the art TechnoGym equipment including cardio vascular machines with individual entertainment systems, weight machines, free weights and benches, an expansive stretching area and resistance training and core strengthening equipment. Designed as a contemporary urban loft space, the health club features floor to ceiling windows with views of the Back Bay. The facility will also include an outdoor deck.
The hotel’s public areas have also received some new additions. An elegant Lobby Lounge, perfect for relaxing or an impromptu meeting, recently opened. Lavish furnishings and wall coverings are complemented by impressive art, including signed lithographs by Matisse, Picasso and Chagall. Catie Copley, the hotel’s canine ambassador, has even received a new custom-made dog bed as part of the renovation of this space. Adjacent to the Lobby Lounge, in Peacock Alley, the original hand-laid mosaic tile floor from 1912 has been restored creating a dramatic new feeling to the grand entrance of the hotel.
Following an extensive restoration, OAK Long Bar + Kitchen makes its debut this summer. The soaring neoclassical space features an expansive menu of hand-crafted cocktails and farm to table inspired American menu. OAK Long Bar + Kitchen rests perfectly between past and present; vaulted ceilings, original beaux arts plaster and restored copper mullions contrast with a lighter, more contemporary cerused oak palette (the first real oak to actually be brought into the space); fireplaces reminiscent of a University Club sit alongside a state-of-the-art wine room; and, tufted leather bar stools sidle up to an 83 foot copper-topped bar. OAK also features a seasonal outdoor patio. For more information about OAK Long Bar + Kitchen please visit oaklongbarkitchen.com.
Since its prestigious opening in 1912, the Fairmont Copley Plaza has stood as a landmark and symbol of Boston’s tradition of culture, history, elegance and hospitality. Designed by Henry Janeway Hardenbergh, architect of the Copley Plaza’s sister hotel, The Plaza in New York, the palatial quality and opulent décor create the feeling of a bygone era and of life lived on a grand scale. Today, with the completion of an extensive renovation and restoration, the guest rooms and suites complement the grandeur of the public space, while providing a comfortable home away from home for guests. The Fairmont Copley Plaza is owned by Texas-based FelCor Lodging Trust, which owns interests in 82 properties with approximately 23,000 rooms in the US and Canada.
