Yesterday, at 159 West 48th Street the Hard Rock Hotel New York opened. With a 446 rooms and a new live-event venue, room rates are not cheep. They start at $475 per night.
The glass tower features three dining spots, including NYY Steak and the RT60 rooftop bar on the 34th floor. Executive chef Oscar Gonzalez says the three venues feature distinct dining options: a steakhouse with unexpected twists, a rooftop bar offering globally-influenced small bites, and a lobby restaurant whose star is a roving bagel-and-lox cart. There are five kitchens with 40 chefs. The steakhouse seats up to 130 diners. There, Yankees memorabilia, dry-aged beef, and a vegetarian tasting menu ($65), will draw from produce grown specifically for Hard Rock by a farm in Pennsylvania.
RT60 Rooftop Bar & Lounge, is devoted to shareable plates that incorporate Japanese techniques and spices from Peru and Chile.
The brand’s signature breakfast-through-dinner Sessions restaurant and bar on the main level has a three-story atrium, open-air terrace and a grand staircase. Acoustic musical performances are planned. Constant Grind, a cafe for tea, coffee, pastries and a casual bite, completes the food offerings.
Music is the thread weaving throughout with multiple live performance spaces, memorabilia from icons like Alicia Keys prominently displayed. Large-scale images of Hendrix and Bowie line the walls, as does Joey Ramone’s leather jacket, Lady Gaga’s silver patent leather boots and handwritten lyrics for John Lennon’s 1972 ode to his adopted home. Subtle design touches like microphone light fixtures. 48th Street was once packed with recording studios, instrument, sheet music stores that fed the city’s music scene.
Guest rooms and suites have floor-to-ceiling windows. The Rock Star Suite on the 36th floor is a glam bi-level glass-enclosed penthouse with a 1,600-square-foot terrace and direct access to the rooftop bar.
The music-influenced Hard Rock brand began in London in the 1980s with the Hard Rock Cafe on Park Lane, and has grown into an international brand with 253 properties.
The Hard Rock’s heart is its notable music memorabilia, the largest private collection in the world, with overt 86,000 pieces.
We welcome the newest addition to Times Square.