In 2012, Stonehill & Taylor?de facto hotel design gurus?won a competition to make over the Novotel in Times Square, which is in fact the only outpost of that Accor brand in the U.S. Novotels supposed to be hip, futuristic, and sleek, but the old version gave off a decidedly dated Epcot-esque vibe. Principal Mike Suomi took us on a tour of the renovated 480-roomer, with rates that start from $200/night and skyrocket from there. The iconic New Year's Eve ball drop, as well as various traditions that fete the passage of time around the world, inspired much of the design, from video installations on LED-paneled columns to chandeliers that look like fireworks to the way that the lobby's tubular bar and the lighting that radiate out from it are supposed to emulate an early astronomical model called an armillary that was used to tell the date.
For those who were wondering, here are a few shots of what the hotel looked like pre-renovation:
And here are some professional shots of two model rooms, one with one king bed and the other with two doubles:
· Novotel New York Times Square [official]
· Mapping New York City's Hotels Under Construction [Curbed]
· Hotels Week 2013 [Curbed]
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