Louis Rigal murals — and a silver-leaf ceiling.

Less is more is rarely the first thought that leaps to mind when you enter the Park Avenue lobby of the Waldorf-Astoria. This massive expanse is one of the most superb examples of Art Deco design in town.

The deco is decorative – allegorical murals by French artist Louis Rigal, gilded ceiling reliefs of frolicking naiads and stags, a floor mosaic of the Wheel of Life made from 150,000 tiny tiles.

Still, there’s notably less to see than there was just a few months ago. While never a candidate for Hoarders, the lobby in its newly renovated incarnation is an emphatic if unexpected salute to Mies van der Rohe’s maxim.

To leap forward the hotel stepped backward, restoring the lobby to the original footprint on view when it opened in 1931.  (more…)

A little more to the left . . .

Actually, the Belleclaire is getting an entire new lobby (and not a moment too soon).

But a chandelier this big commands more attention than a throw pillow. And we happened to stop by as it was being positioned into place.

The new lobby is reason to cheer. It harkens back to a time when the Belleclaire was a Big Deal – a very long time ago.

As indicated by the exuberant Art Nouveau-meets-Vienna Secession exterior, the hotel opened in 1903, a showpiece by architect Emory Roth, the Rem Koolhaas of his day. Other Emory hotels, known for their flamboyant topknots and multiple terraces, included the Warwick and the Beverly (now The Benjamin ) as well as landmark apartment towers like the San Remo and the Beresford. (more…)

The spruced up Roger.

Roger Williams always seemed an oddball name for a New York City hotel, especially one with a breezy, modern air. We’re not in Rhode Island, after all. And just when I finally discover what’s behind the name, they go and change it.

As I learned this week, the Roger Williams was built atop a plot of land leased from the 150-year-old Madison Avenue Baptist church next door. (more…)

Welcome to the lobby.

A few weeks ago, while the Algonquin was still closed for renovations, we passed by the hotel. The front door was open, so we walked in.

The lobby was a construction site. But looking beyond the drop cloths and ladders we saw what we’d always seen – dark wood-paneled walls, stoic wood columns and hand-painted sconces straight out of the Edwardian era.  As we scampered out, a workman yelling that we didn’t belong there, we smiled.  It was clear the Algonquin hadn’t gone minimal or modern or been reimagined by Philippe Starck. Maybe they’d even keep the cat.

The hotel reopened in late May – renovations will wrap by June 30 – and this week we returned to see the almost-finished product. (more…)

The 2011 holiday tree.

Last year the Grand Hyatt New York, in the throes of a massive renovation, strung holiday lights from the construction scaffolding. This year the scaffolding is history, and a towering Christmas tree constructed from glass balls brings on the cheer.

A $130 million renovation is worth cheering – in part because it’s finished (the work unfolded in phases over three years). But the changes are smart, embracing nearly every inch of this midtown behemoth. “We’ve modernized,” said Mark Pardue, general manager, at a party celebrating the new building.

What they really did was de-Trump the place. (more…)

The Algonquin.

Historic hotels have their charms – the evocative architecture, the whiff of time travel, the (often) dazzling out-of-the-past guests lists. But there’s nothing charming about historic plumbing, which could be one reason the Algonquin, New York’s oldest operating hotel, is closing for four months of renovations beginning on January 1, 2012.

The news, reported in USA Today, seems a blend of surprise and what-took-them-so-long. The hotel, called the Puritan when it opened in 1902, oozes history in all the right places, namely the cozy/urbane wood-paneled lobby that still reels in an intriguing crowd, and the tile-floored Blue Bar, which opened the day Prohibition was repealed. (more…)

Crossroads Lounge tower.

And that’s exactly what they did. Good-bye, power suits. Hello, 21^st century.

Earlier this month the Marriott Marquis unveiled its new lobby, centerpiece of its $39 million renovation. As befits a big hotel almost three decades old and 1,900-plus rooms strong big changes are on view in the sprawling 8^th floor John Portman atrium lobby, punctuated by colorfully lit elevator cars whizzing up and down.  With the demise of the sushi bar, a touristy American restaurant and a fleet of tables littered with empty Starbucks cups, the hotel has sluffed off its shopping mall food court look and moved upscale in keeping with its high season room prices, currently starting around $500. (more…)

A renovated room at the Sheraton.

Some renovations are the hospitality equivalent of an out-patient procedure – new bed dressings, curtains, carpeting and TVs. Others are tantamount to a quadruple bypass — deep-dish metamorphoses that entail messy stuff, like ripping out showers, furnishings and climate systems.

Just shy of its 50^th birthday the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers, a member of the second camp, is in the latter stages of “the largest renovation project in the history of the hotel,” says Mark Sanders, general manager. (more…)

The "new" hotel entrance.

We’ve followed the Grand Hyatt’s three-year march into the 21^st century since it began, and after what we saw on a recent visit it’s official – the glass and metal behemoth nudging Grand Central Station is edging closer to the finish line, shedding the last vestiges of shoulder pads, Dynasty and other creaky 80s trappings.

The lobby is the latest work in progress and at present it’s not pretty. (more…)

The 1960s exterior.

The 1,781-room Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers, a classic midtown skyscraper, is in the midst of a $150 million makeover.  And not a moment too soon from what we saw on a recent visit.

You need to think back to Mad Men days to imagine this 51-story behemoth as special, but it was. At 501 feet, it was one of the 100 tallest hotels in the world when it opened in 1962 as the Americana and loomed over its competitors as the city’s loftiest concrete-frame building of its day.

Sporting a colossal bent slab structure, it flaunted horizontal stripes of steel-frame windows and a yellow glazed brick facing, as modern and evocative as a Pan Am jet or a Cadillac’s tail fins. (more…)