July 31–With its Dime Bank entrance, industrial look and locally inspired artwork, the new Renaissance Hotel is designed to be uniquely Allentown.
But there’s one thing about the 170-room edifice that most don’t associate with a downtown that’s been in decline for three decades: this place is going to be swank, and visitors will pay a premium to experience it.
Though new General Manager Scott Bullock said the market will dictate rates, developers have said standard rooms are expected to cost about $140 for a weekday and $180 on the weekend. Executive rooms and suites figure to cost significantly more.
Developers this week introduced Bullock as the GM and released the first renderings of the under-construction Renaissance Hotel, revealing a facility with the kind of extravagance no longer expected in downtown Allentown.
“We will be at the top of the market in both price and service. I’m certain of that,” said Bullock, who most recently managed the Strathallan Doubletree in Rochester, N.Y. and previously managed four-star hotels in Denver and Santa Barbara. “We’re going to be a four-star hotel and we’re going to charge rates that go with that.”
City Center Investment Corp., developers of the $65 million hotel, which is attached to the city’s hockey arena and to Lehigh Valley Hospital’s sports fitness center at Seventh and Hamilton streets, gave the first glimpse of a facility they say will look like no other. Unlike brands with identifiable styles visitors come to expect, Marriott’s Renaissance brand seeks to instill in each of its hotels the unique flavor of the community around it.
In addition to having the remnants of the historic Dime Bank as its entrance, the Renaissance will have finishings such as iron pipe handles on its door, polished metal drawers and an industrial look mean to evoke Bethlehem Steel and the Valley’s manufacturing roots.
Washed in what Bullock called an “urban loft chic” style, each room will have artwork that includes a giant metal capital A — for Allentown — on the wall, framed prints of Crayola products and an X-ray photo of the Liberty Bell, which was hidden temporarily under the floor of a nearby church during the Revolutionary War.
The hotel was initially targeted to open in September along with the 8,500-seat arena, but the first reservations being accepted are for January.
Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski can hardly wait, because for all of its unique touches, luxurious finishings and concierge service, what he’s most looking forward to is its ability to attract the business travelers with expense accounts who have been bypassing Allentown.
During the weekend, Bullock said the hotel will be an upscale haven for people visiting Valley events like Musikfest or concerts at the soon-to-open PPL Center. But from Sunday to Thursday, it will cater to business meetings, with conference rooms capable of handling as many as 400 travelers and an arena floor that — when the Phantoms aren’t playing — can handle a lot more.
“Hopefully, this is going to put us on the conference circuit with Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Harrisburg,” Pawlowski said. “This brings our downtown the kind of conferences we haven’t seen in decades.”
Smaller conference rooms overlook the arena ice, and the largest ballroom and restaurant overlook the city’s Center Square. The restaurant — likely to be given some Allentown-themed name — will feature upscale tavern fare and an industrial motif accented by a giant glass cooler filled with kegs of beer.
“When the statue is lit up at night, this is a very cool view,” Bullock said as he looked from the third-floor ballroom into Center Square. “There’s no view like this anywhere else in Allentown.”
Add valet service, iPad control of meeting rooms and executive suites with outdoor patios, and Allentown will have the kind of amenities travelers haven’t seen in the Queen City in years.
The only other four-star hotel in the Valley is the Sands Casino Hotel in Bethlehem, which features standard rooms ranging from $150 to $199, and presidential suites costing as much as $400 on some nights.
Are travelers ready to pay those kinds of prices for Allentown?
“Not only are they ready, but this market has been clamoring for more high-quality lodging,” said Michael Stershic, president of Discover Lehigh Valley, whose primary job is to market the region to tourists. “Locals have a low perception of downtown Allentown, but visitors look at it through a very different lens. This is the right time and the right place for this hotel.”
Some have predicted that the opening of the Renaissance will be the beginning of the end for the Holiday Inn Allentown, just two blocks away on Hamilton.
Holiday Inn owner Vinay Barthwal believes quite the opposite. The Holiday Inn’s lost money most years since his group bought it in 2007, but he believes the Renaissance will bring it new life. Not only will it grow the pie from which local hotels will take their piece, he said, but also will help the Holiday Inn establish itself as a lower-cost option for travelers who would not have otherwise come to Allentown.
“We needed an upscale hotel to bring in business,” Barthwal said. “We’re already seeing bookings for the concerts and we think we can be the choice of families and business people looking for a lower cost alternative. This is good for us.”
The eight-story Renaissance Hotel has already announced that it will host the Pennsylvania Municipal League annual conference next June. Bullock said the hotel also is in talks with others groups.
“Along with the PPL Center and LVHN we’re turning the wheel” on the perception of Allentown as a downtown in decline, Bullock said. “We’re changing minds, one person at a time.”
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