Harlem gets first major hotel in four decades
When a trendy Starwood boutique hotel called Aloft opens in Harlem later this month, it will be the neighborhood’s first major hotel since the famed Theresa closed in 1967.
Harlem is already a must-see for many visitors to New York, but the tourism industry believes the opening of this hotel will help make the area even more of a destination by encouraging people to stay overnight or longer, says the New York Times.
"Instead of just going up to visit Harlem, you can stay in Harlem," said George Fertitta, head of NYC & Company, the city’s tourism and marketing agency.
The Aloft is one of about 100 new hotels to open in the city since 2007. A number of other hotel projects planned for Harlem were abandoned or delayed by the recession.
Said Fertitta:
"The interest in Harlem from tourists on a global basis is extraordinary. It’s one of the top spots in New York City that people want to see,"
Big Apple Greeter, which offers free tours led by volunteer New Yorkers, gets more requests for Harlem than any other neighborhood except Greenwich Village. And double-decker tour buses pull up all day long on 125th Street outside the Apollo Theater, which attracts 2.5 million visitors a year for in-house tours and its famous Wednesday Amateur Night.
The Theresa was a haven for prominent African-Americans in an era when they weren’t welcome at hotels elsewhere.
In 1960, the Theresa’s guest roster included Fidel Castro, in town to speak at the United Nations.
But in recent years, the Theresa was run-down. Harlem, like so many New York neighborhoods, was also hurt by rising crime and urban decay.
But these days, Harlem is "vibrant and up and coming," said Brian McGuinness, senior vice president of Aloft Hotels.
"The Aloft brand is known for being cutting-edge and innovative, and as we looked at Harlem, and all the way back from when Hotel Theresa opened up in 1913, which was quite avant-garde at the time, we determined that Harlem was certainly the right place to launch the Aloft in New York City," he said.
By David Wilkening
David
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