Hyatt Regency Houston gets modern makeover
The Hyatt Regency Houston’s Imperial Ballroom was set up for a dance competition last weekend, with an elevated stage, judges’ table and short rows of socially distanced seating for guests.
The event happened alongside the low-key coronavirus pandemic version of the unveiling of a completely renovated hotel. A short two weeks ago, the hotel was packed for the first time in nearly a year — it was one of the few places that never lost power — and the city has given final inspection approval after close to a year of work that touched everything except the 33rd floor rotating Spindletop restaurant.
“The hotel was … redesigned with today’s modern travelers and executives in mind, while incorporating odes to artist influences from throughout the state and reflecting
Houston’s reputation as a world-class destination known for its rich history and modern innovations,” said managing director John Schafer.
Hyatt Regency Houston, a modern-style hotel that went up in 1972 and became part of the downtown skyline, started its renovations 10 months ago and finished early, perhaps one of the few silver linings to come out of the coronavirus pandemic.
The ballroom and the rest of the hotel’s 71,000 square feet of meeting space got new carpet, vinyl wallcovering, lighting and high-tech equipment that a convention hotel needs today.
Inside the first-floor lobby, slabs of green marble and a beige-brown palette that marked the last renovation are gone. Now visitors are greeted with panels of veiny gray tile, blond wood and carpet in grays and warm neutrals.
The sunken lobby bar has been transformed into a more contemporary space. The sunken part has been filled in so it’s all on one level, and the bar and high-top tables are covered in a pergola-like blond wood canopy. More tables and chairs sit around the perimeter, followed by another row of boothlike seating separated by smaller versions of the canopies, meant to mimic the kind of installations you’d see in Marfa.
Still a 30-story atrium, you can watch its four glass elevators carry passengers up and down from anywhere in the lobby. Small meeting room or event space the Window Box also looks out into the atrium.
Shula’s Steakhouse, formerly a realm of dark wood and brass, is now a light-filled space featuring blond wood and more minimalist Scandinavianstyle furnishings.
The 955 guest rooms take cues from the work of abstract expressionist Mark Rothko, whose work is on display at the not-far-away Menil Collection and Rothko Chapel. Expect statement wall headboards in dark neutrals, sleeper sofas and built-in desks, plus updated bathrooms with built-in mirror lights.