Modern Marvel
by Mary Scoviak, Contributing Editor -- HOTELS Magazine, 6/1/2007
When the 215-room Park Hyatt, Washington, D.C.'s management began thinking about a renovation, it didn't take long to see the right direction. "The district has strong demand for 5-star hotels. There are a lot of wonderful classic hotels for guests who want that experience. What was missing was a contemporary luxury hotel that could redefine 'high end'," says Michel Morauw, the Park Hyatt's general manager.
The Park Hyatt's team turned to New York City interior designer tonychi and associates to deliver a design solution that would be "modern in concept but traditional in thought." Combining nature, history, politics and more than US$1 million worth of art, the look that emerged after the hotel's closure and subsequent June 2006 reopening shook up guest expectations about "D.C. hotels." The "recreated" Park Hyatt signals a paradigm shift in design with its lobby-as-living space concept, new revenue drivers such as the capital's first Tea Cellar and an affluent neighborhood tavern concept, sleek new meeting spaces and guestrooms that marry sophisticated modernism with American style. Pent-up demand for a bolder design statement in the 5-star sector is already paying dividends, says Morauw. Occupancy is tracking toward 65% and rates are running 10-15% ahead of the district's rising averages.
Open Up New Revenue Streams
The public spaces underwent an extreme makeover. Chi and his team reconfigured the old "overscaled" lobby to maximize opportunities for revenue generating spaces. They broke down the spaces into intimate parcels-not with walls but with cherry blossom glass boxes and glass "rooms" that frame the reception area. Modern details such as \polished glass, stainless steel and concrete mix with traditional warm touches of limed oak, subdued gray limestone, antique white flooring, American quilt patterns and persimmon-colored burlap to transform the reception area into a welcoming gallery space.
Opposite the reception area are the living rooms. These transitional seating areas give guests a comfortable place to relax or revive. As guests move into these spaces and transition deeper into the hotel, the design mood becomes even more residential with its natural colors and earth tones, creams, browns, taupes and beiges, statement-making paintings by New York-based Japanese artist Kuzaya Morimoto and classically American Windsor-style painted chairs and rocking chairs.
"The entrance needs to make an impact and tell guests something about the hotel," says Chi, the firm's founder and president. "We used scale as well as different textures and materials to have an impact. It is a big gesture-bold and simple yet exquisite."
This repositioning changed more than form. An under-performing function room is now one of the capital's hippest lounges. Several 8.5-ft. easels of limed oak and off-white lacquer display modern paintings that flank the entrance for the lounge, bar and Tea Cellar. Chi employs eye-catching design elements to give guests reasons to explore each of these outlets. Four glass-enclosed "Capitol Hill" power booths make the main architectural statement in the lounge. Set up to face the distinctive U-shaped marble an glass bar, these booths are elevated to integrate them into the bar's "see and be seen" ambience. "We had only a small bar with 25 seats before the renovation. We were clearly missing a major opportunity," the general manager says.
The mood, and the market, shifts in the Tea Cellar. Rather than walling off the space, the design team installed a full-height clear glass wall and revolving wood display cabinets to separate the Tea Cellar from the reception area. A floor-to-ceiling Pu-Erh cellar used to store, display and age vintage Pu-Erh teas is both a focal point and a marketing tool. Made of polished nickel and glass, it is a conversation-and sales-starter for this one-of-a-kind venue. Not only does this concept attract locals looking for a break in the day, it also broadens reach and capture among female travelers who may not feel comfortable in a more traditional lounge or even a wine bar. "The lobby works more as living room. You can have a cappuccino in the morning, a tisane, a light lunch, afternoon tea and a nightcap while you socialize or while you work. You can hold an informal meeting or have your private space," says Morauw.
Morauw saw a major opportunity to build food and beverage business from the local community with a different style of hotel restaurant. The hotel's management worked with the designers on the concept and look of the Blue Duck Tavern. According to Morauw, the open kitchen and fine materials resonate with patrons looking for an exciting but less formal dining experience. Nearly 90% of the business in this hot young restaurants is local, with average check standing at US$40 to U$45 for food.
The design maximizes flexibility in the space. Black lacquer colonial doors welcome locals entering through a separate entrance accessed through garden hedges. Once inside, they can choose their destination-whether the privacy of a corner secluded by a pillar, a social table in the midst of the action, the serenity of Veranda dining, the sensory pleasures of the wine pantry or a special evening at the chef's table screened from the main restaurant by cabinets and wine racks.
"Tony layered in small intimate spaces by using elements that you glimpse through-the wine racks, glass, cabinetry. Since the space is L-shaped, the kitchen and private dining areas are separated by a walk-through wine cellar of transparent glass boxes. The patrons can be private anywhere but still be part of the restaurant scene," says Morauw.
Room to Grow Sales
One of the biggest changes in the "new" Park Hyatt after its 10-month closure were spa-like bathrooms. Showers and deep tubs combine to create a "wet room." Guests who don't have time for a soak can choose the rain shower or a hand-held shower. Chi updated the look of these pampering spaces by eschewing traditional luxury materials for new statements in limestone and light woods. Sculptured granite stone lends sophisticated flair to the guest baths in the Park Deluxe rooms.
Morauw says the high mix of design details gives these rooms a modern appeal-not only with U.S. guests but the growing number of international guests. "The designers used a lot of different materials-dark walnut on the floor, limestone, light woods, straw-like wall coverings on some walls, paint on others. We wanted a sensory experience, so we even had a fragrance designed specifically for the hotel," the general manager says.
One thing guests won't find is a lot of paintings. "There is so much beautiful art in Washington. D.C. How can you compete with that in the guestroom? We thought it would be better to use elements of modernism and American style," says Morauw.
Style was also a consideration for the hotel's uniforms. "Employees are part of a new generation-very smart, very well-educated. They have great social skills. So their attire has to be smart. Polyester jackets with gold buttons and a big name tag just won't work any more. It's all about business attire, such as Italian-cut suits, charcoals, midnight blues. At the front desk, it's about quality and white shirts. In the food and beverage outlets, it's about business suits with a tee-shirt underneath. Even after five, guests don't expect waitstaff to show up in a tuxedo. They have all taken off their ties," says Morauw.
