Hyatt will be opening its biggest-ever hotel in New York, and it’ll even feature… a free-fall thrill ride?!
“Flagship” The StandardX Times Square opening in 2028
Hyatt is partnering with Extell Development Company to debut the The StandardX brand in North America, with plans for The StandardX Times Square, expected to open in the second half of 2028. The hotel will have approximately 1,800 rooms, and will be located at 255 West 45th Street, in Manhattan’s Theater District.
This will be Hyatt’s biggest-ever hotel in New York, and the room count is just shy of the city’s biggest hotel, which is the Marriott Marquis, with nearly 2,000 keys.
The hotel is described as anchoring a striking new addition to the Manhattan skyline, featuring an enclosed free-fall thrill ride, an observation deck more than 1,000 feet above Manhattan, a rooftop pool, and an extensive collection of restaurants, bars, and nightlife destinations.
The property’s design will “draw on New York’s theatrical character, with bold color, sculptural forms, reflective finishes and unexpected details,” and rooms “will be expressive but straightforward, while public spaces will bring together the design, music and social energy associated with The Standard.”
The StandardX is the “younger sibling” of the The Standard brand, and for those not familiar, here’s how the concept is described:
The StandardX brand was created around a simple idea: keep what makes The Standard hotels special and lose what doesn’t need to be there. Great beds, good design, interesting people and a connection to the city outside. The rooms are simpler, the service more casual and the experience more streamlined. The attitude hasn’t changed. The idea is to keep the hotel simple and put guests at the center of everything interesting happening around it. Wherever The StandardX goes, X marks the spot.
This is an interesting evolution for The StandardX brand
What’s interesting is that there’s currently one property that’s open and part of The StandardX, and that’s in Melbourne. It opened in August 2024 and features just 125 rooms, so it’s much more boutique in scale.
What’s odd is that the brand had a second property open in Bangkok in November 2024, with just 62 rooms. But less than two years after opening, it was rebranded as QURO Bangkok Riverside, belonging to Unscripted by Hyatt.
So it’s odd to see a brand where the first two properties had 62 rooms and 125 rooms, now open a hotel that has 1,800 rooms. It kind of gets at how there’s no consistency within a brand anymore, even for a new brand that so far has just a single property.
For that matter, it’s noteworthy how investors are committing such a big property to a brand that’s a relative unknown. Sure, people know about The Standard, but The StandardX is a more budget version of that. I guess the idea is that with participation in World of Hyatt, it shouldn’t be too hard to fill these rooms.
I suspect Hyatt is marketing The StandardX brand to investors as sort of being the best of both worlds — guest rooms can be compact (great for maximizing room count), while the hotel will also have a robust collection of food & beverage outlets, as well as attractions, which is ideal for maximizing revenue.
Bottom line
The StandardX will be making its North America debut, with the opening of The StandardX Times Square in the second half of 2028. The StandardX is the more budget friendly version of The Standard. It’s odd how the existing property belonging to the brand has just 125 rooms, while the new property will have 1,800 rooms, so that’s quite the ambitious project.
This hotel will also have a free-fall thrill ride, as well as a rooftop pool and nightlife destination, so I’m curious to learn more details.
What do you make of The StandardX having a property of this scale?
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