Stay up to date on the latest venue openings and property renovations, including these found in the East.
New York
Slated to debut this fall, Motto by Hilton New York City Chelsea is a new-build micro hotel that will offer 374 rooms and is located two blocks from two popular NYC attractions: Madison Square Park and the Flatiron Building.
Part of Hilton’s lifestyle portfolio, Motto is known as an affordable lifestyle brand of micro hotels. This will be the third-ever Motto to open, following the launch of locations in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia.
Room categories at Motto Chelsea range from Murphy beds and bunk beds to standard king beds. The brand claims it’s also the first to offer three connecting rooms, as a way to provide more flexibility for travelers.
Pennsylvania
Omni Bedford Springs Resort & Spa, located in Pennsylvania’s scenic Allegheny Mountain region, recently completed a $1.4 million renovation that includes a new lobby bar, retail space, coffee shop, reading nook and refreshed fitness center. The goal of the renovation was to refresh spaces and create a meeting place and focal point in the lobby.
The new lobby bar, tucked under the grand staircase, was designed to reflect the history of the property, and its menu features single-barrel bourbons and handcrafted cocktails. Guests can expect a cozy space with cool tones of blue, warm creams and dark wood hues.
Other new additions include the Tally Ho Sports Shop (named after the carriage that originally brought people to Bedford), which serves as an updated retail outlet and outdoor activity shop, and Evitt Coffee House, a new onsite cafe that offers coffee, grab-and-go options and ice cream.
Guests can also enjoy the new Reading Nook, transformed from the former coffee outlet, which is a brightly lit space to sit, relax and indulge in a good book. The revamped fitness center has been moved to a bigger, brighter space and features modern equipment like a Peloton bike.
[Related: 4 Ways Groups Can Get Outdoors in Pittsburgh]
In late August, Philadelphia welcomed the 51-story W Philadelphia Hotel in the heart of downtown. The property offers 295 guest rooms—including 39 suites that feature oversized soaking tubs—with designs in the entryways and bathrooms that are a nod to traditional Pennsylvania craftsmanship and Shaker-style chairs at each workspace.
Spanning three floors, the W Philadelphia has more than 45,000 square feet of event space. The pre-function space is connected by a grand staircase with a floating chandelier made of 10,000 gold coins, paying homage to Philly’s banking history. And along with 37 meeting rooms, planners can utilize the Great Room, featuring floor-to-ceiling windows, abstract floral carpeting and circular lighting fixtures.
Other amenities on the property include a resident DJ (the W brand has a long-standing passion for music, after all); the WET Deck, featuring a heated pool and a bar on the seventh floor; signature restaurant Dolce; and an AWAY Spa with five treatment rooms.
Beautiful Boutique Hotel Opens in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.’s newest boutique hotel should be on your radar. The 144-room Kimpton Banneker Hotel opened its doors in June on historic 16th Street in downtown D.C. Amenities abound for groups, including 3,800 square feet of flexible indoor and outdoor meeting and event space, as well as event planning services.
A standout space: The open-air Lady Bird rooftop bar, which offers collapsible floor-to-ceiling glass walls and unbeatable views of D.C. The Banneker also offers two indoor meeting spaces with eye-popping art collections.
Planners can easily incorporate teambuilding into their program at the Banneker, as the hotel’s surrounding neighborhood offers parks, trails and waterfront destinations. On-site, the hotel can host daily evening wine happy hours and offer access to complimentary bikes to explore the area. Also available is a wide variety of books thanks to a partnership with LitHub. And groups can enjoy a meal at the Banneker’s ground-floor French bistro, Le Sel.
If you’re wondering where the name Banneker comes from, it’s a nod to Benjamin Banneker, one of the country’s major Black innovators who played an integral role in surveying the land that would become the nation's capital.
Read Next: A Long-Standing Pennsylvania Inn Gets a Makeover—Plus 2 New NYC Hotels
