UPPER WEST SIDE — A Texas-based boutique hotel chain has transformed a West 77th Street inn into a sleek, 1920s-style hotel that features live jazz and more modern rooms.
The 13-year-old On the Ave hotel, known for its modern look and proximity to the Museum of Natural History and Central Park, received a more-than-$20 million facelift after an ownership change announced last December.
The hotel at the corner of Broadway will be NYLO's first foray into New York City and its fifth hotel nationally. The new space includes the company's characteristic loft-like atmosphere, said Michael Dwyer, director of sales and marketing at NYLO New York.
"This is a cozy industrial feel," Dwyer said of the makeover, which expanded the lobby space and unearthed exposed brick walls.
Architects Stonehill & Taylor and Stephanie Dupoux also strove for a Roaring '20s vibe with large leather couches and armchairs, a piano bar section, velvet banquettes, a library and dark lighting.
"All of the tufted [leather] furniture brings out the '20s," Dwyer said.
He hopes live jazz and the lobby bar, a new feature at the hotel, will lure locals to come hang out at NYLO.
The bar, LOCL, is not open yet, but it will serve Prohibition-era cocktails like an Old Fashioned and Strawberry Bramble, as well as a floor-to-ceiling window that will open onto West 77th Street, Dwyer noted.
"I don't think there's anything up here that offers this boutique lifestyle feel," he said.
Dwyer hopes the hotel will be popular with tourists who don't need to be in the thick of Times Square — and with its hipper vibe, NYLO is hoping to attract the Fashion Week and Lincoln Center crowds, he added.
While the lobby is aiming for a jazz bar feel, NYLO's hotel rooms have a very different look.
Rooms that used to boast khaki carpets, heavy furniture and bedspreads and earth tones are now "much cleaner" with a "modern twist," Dwyer said.
Metal sinks combined with all-white linens have replaced the former look, with pops of primary colors in the light fixtures and pillows.
The hotel has also removed its rooms' mini-bar in favor of a NYLO app that lets guests order online from nearby eateries and markets, like the forthcoming Chinese restaurant RedFarm next door, Dwyer added.
