QUEENS PLAZA SOUTH — A Long Island City hotel is getting a lavish expansion that will include a rooftop swimming pool, a 400-person ballroom and a reflecting pool that turns into an ice skating rink for winter.
The Ravel Hotel is constructing a $10 million, 10-story tower next to its current location at 8-08 Queens Plaza South. The expansion will be called The Estate at Ravel and will include a large catering hall and ballroom for weddings and other special events.
Additional luxuries will include a 17,000-square-foot indoor/outdoor space on the third floor with a lounge, a landscaped garden and a reflecting pool to be used for ice skating during cold weather, as well as a 3,500-square-foot swimming pool on the 10th floor roof.
"It'll be a nice added amenity for the community," said owner Ravi Patel, who said the new perks will be available for public use, with some restrictions. Use of the pool will be available through a membership.
Patel said he's long wanted to expand upon the 6-story, 63-room hotel which he opened in 2008, and thought the current construction boom in Long Island City made this a ripe time to grow.
"We know what the area can produce, and right now there's so much new development going on here, we feel like it’s a great opportunity," he said.
The new space will also have 54 guest rooms, each with private outdoor spaces, plus two bridal suites that will feature wrap-around terraces, an outdoor pool table, and a four-poster bed that's moveable so guests have the option of sleeping under the stars.
A bridge will connect the new building to the rooftop of the current building, home to Penthouse808, an Asian bar and bistro known for its sweeping views of the Manhattan skyline and the nearby Queensboro Bridge.
The project is expected to be completed by this May, Patel said.
