Fifth Ave.’s posh Peninsula hotel is getting a fresh new look

Mark Ellwood
·3 min read
Exterior of the Peninsula New York.
The revamp of the luxury hotel will be overseen by the same design crew who rehabbed Chicago's Peninsula.

The Peninsula New York is undergoing a major renovation right now and the consensus is: It’s about time!

“People walk by the Peninsula now without noticing, and it’s sad,” said hospitality development consultant Adam Patrizia, “The only thing you do notice is the homelessness problem in front of the church next door, and the Wempe store.”

The hotel’s operators, HSH, certainly hope to change that with its latest do-over. It will include souping up the tech in its 217 rooms to install control-all touchscreen tablets, as well as radically improving the aesthetics, focusing on a white-on-white palette that nods to the Art-Deco era. Design will be overseen by Bill Rooney and his team, vets of rehabbing Chicago’s Peninsula.

The 217 rooms will get a bump in tech prowess and a new white-on-white aesthetic. Courtesy The Peninsula New York
The 217 rooms will get a bump in tech prowess and a new white-on-white aesthetic. Courtesy The Peninsula New York

This overhaul includes the lobby and its restaurants, with the rooftop Salon de Ning reborn Pen Top, a contender for Midtown hotspot with its eye squarely on the Polo Bar nearby.

The rationale for that reno is simple: the tired Peninsula’s at risk of being eclipsed by shinier new luxe arrivals.

“It’s about keeping up with the Joneses, if you look at what’s coming online,” said Hotels magazine editor-in-chief David Eisen, noting the arrival of Aman a few blocks north, plus the soon-to-debut Corinthia rebrand of the Surrey, the reopening of midtown’s Four Seasons and plans for a 130-room spot from Little Nell operator Aspen Hospitality at Rockefeller Center. “They’ve not done a renovation in 25 years, and hotels get a lot of wear and tear.”

“You have to stay new and fresh in order to remain competitive — that’s how luxury hotels maintain their status,” echoed Daniel Lesser from LW Hospitality Advisors, noting that most hotel will wait a maximum of 10 years between makeovers. To justify charging rates on parity with its competition, the Peninsula’s pricey re-concept is essential. To book a weekend in May at the hotel currently costs between $845 and $1,100 per night, meanwhile the average daily rate for a luxury hotel in the city just hit $562 — a 24% growth over pre-pandemic in 2019, per data firm HotStats.

The overhaul will include the hotel’s restaurants like the Clement. Mark Wieland Photography
The overhaul will include the hotel’s restaurants like the Clement. Mark Wieland Photography

The retail area near the Peninsula remains equally prestigious. Fifth Avenue’s Gold Coast — roughly from East 51st Street to Central Park — has seen rents soar. In fact, it’s hit $2,000 per square foot over the past year, the priciest in the world, and 13% higher than the nearest rival, Milan’s Via Montenapoleone, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

“It has rebounded plus, plus, plus to pre-COVID levels,” said Retail by Mona founder Brandon Singer. “Rents are back to where they were, but the interesting part is the acquisitions — that’s never happened before.”

He cites the sale of several buildings offering renewed faith in the nabe, including Kering’s $963 million purchase of 715-717 Fifth Ave. at 56th Street, just after Prada spent $835 milion to buy 720 and 724 Fifth.

Peninsula’s own expansion is another factor, said Eisen: Sparkly new flagships in London and Istanbul have attracted a cachet-seeking clientele. They’d likely be sorely disappointed by a stay at the Peninsula New York as-is., he cautioned.

“They need to do something, and do something quickly — that area is trying to chase London for luxury, flagged hotel opportunities,” notes consultant Patrizia, “It’s just not pulling its weight.”