Renaissance New York Harlem Hotel

Renaissance New York Harlem Hotel stands at 233 West 125th Street, between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. and Frederick Douglass Boulevards, a few steps from the Apollo Theater. It has 211 rooms and was built behind the preserved front of the Loew's Victoria Theater, a 1917 movie house. The hotel began welcoming guests with a soft opening on 26 August 2023. Marriott describes it as the first full-service hotel in Harlem in about a century, and it is the fifth Renaissance in Manhattan.

The place

The address is 233 West 125th Street, on Harlem's main commercial corridor and a short walk from the Apollo. The site was long occupied by the Victoria, which opened in 1917 as a cinema, and sat vacant for years before this project.

Sources differ on the height of the tower, 27 or 28 storeys depending on the account, which makes it one of the tallest buildings north of Central Park. That height matters to guests: a good share of the 211 rooms look south toward Central Park or over the surrounding streets of Harlem.

The subway stops along 125th Street are close, and the neighbourhood's theatres, music venues and restaurants are within walking distance. The hotel suits visitors who want a Manhattan base above Central Park rather than in Midtown, for a performance at the Apollo, a visit to Columbia University or a few days in the neighbourhood itself.

The concept

The developer kept the Victoria's outer facade, its marquee, the outdoor ticket booth and the staircase designed by the theatre architect Thomas Lamb, and built the hotel above and behind them. Aufgang Architects drew the new building, and AJC Design handled the interiors. Below the hotel, the former theatre space is being converted by the Apollo into two flexible performance venues known as The Victoria. Guests and theatregoers share one entrance under the restored facade.

The lobby is on the fifth floor. The elevators that lead up to it carry portraits of Harlem Renaissance figures, among them Josephine Baker and Cab Calloway. Upstairs, the interiors take their references from Harlem's cultural peak: lines of Langston Hughes are printed on bedroom mirrors, and the steps in the lounge bear the names of jazz musicians.

At the start, one account counted 107 rooms with a single bed, 101 doubles and three suites, though the hotel's own room list may be arranged differently. Marriott positions the property for both business and leisure travellers.

Dining & wellness

Victoria Restaurant & Bar is on the fifth floor, next to the lobby. When the hotel opened it served dinner from 5 p.m., with lunch planned about a month later. The kitchen is run by Silk Hospitality Group, and the early menu listed shrimp and grits, a hot chicken sandwich and a pepper pot beef brisket, alongside small plates.

The lounge in the lobby area serves soul-fusion food and cocktails. A rooftop bar on the 28th floor was announced for 2024, after the opening. The hotel also advertises more than 9,000 square feet of event space spread over five rooms.