#hotels

Hyatt announced The StandardX Times Square, an 1,800-room hotel in a supertall Midtown Manhattan tower under construction by Extell (nicknamed "The Torch"), The Points Guy reports. It would be Hyatt's largest property in New York and one of the city's largest hotels.

Hyatt says it will have a rooftop pool, an observation deck more than 1,000 feet up and "an enclosed free-fall thrill ride," plus restaurants, bars and nightlife. StandardX is the simpler, cheaper sibling of The Standard, launched in 2023 with a first hotel in Melbourne; Hyatt's Amar Lalvani said this flagship is a one-off, not the model for other StandardX hotels. Opening is scheduled for the second half of 2028.

Instead of planning around a ride that's two years away, note what's open now: the brand's existing Melbourne hotel.

The Plaza Hotel at Fifth Avenue and Central Park South will close for four years starting in January 2027 to restore its landmarked marble facade, according to its operator, Fairmont, ABC7 New York reports. Staff told The New York Times the Palm Court and event rooms will close too, leaving couples such as a bride planning a May wedding looking for new venues.

Condé Nast Traveler explains that the hotel's rusticated marble base weathers faster than smooth stone and often needs restoring within about 20 years; the last major renovation was in 2008, and the Landmarks Preservation Commission is working with the hotel. It also reports the hotel is working with the Hotel & Gaming Trades Council union to place the Plaza's 378 staff in other jobs during the closure.

Instead of the Plaza, Condé Nast Traveler suggests the Sherry-Netherland across the street, The Pierre, the Lowell or the Carlyle.

Condé Nast Traveler's fall list includes The Selvedge, an English country-style inn in Healdsburg from the team behind three-Michelin-star SingleThread; The Observatory, a Viceroy resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, near the Idaho Dark Sky Reserve, which the magazine calls the nation's first Gold Tier International Dark Sky Reserve; Recess Hotel & Club in Savannah; The Warbler Hotel in New Orleans; Oyster Estate in Greenport, New York; The Nora in West Palm Beach; and Park Hyatt Riviera Maya.