The Algonquin finishes a guestroom-led renovation
The Algonquin Hotel has completed a renovation of every guestroom, every corridor and the elevators. The hotel announced the completion in September 2026. The work ran in phases across several years. The property stayed open through the whole programme. LODGING Magazine carried the item on September 18.
What the operator said
Willis Loughhead, general manager of The Algonquin, set out the intent in the announcement. "Our focus was to honor the past without being beholden to it," he said. Loughhead is in his sixth year in the role.
CRÈME / Jun Aizaki Architecture & Design led the interiors from Brooklyn. LUCID, the design and development arm of Highgate Hotels, worked with the firm. The pair set the scheme around two subjects: the hotel's own past and the city around it.
What guests will see
Each guestroom and suite holds a triptych of Al Hirschfeld pieces, curated with The Al Hirschfeld Foundation and the foundation's director, David Leopold. One illustration carries gold leaf accents and shows Central Park. The hotel states that piece is exclusive to the property.
The corridors carry archival Hirschfeld works drawn from an 80-year career in New York City. The subjects run from theatre and music to literature and popular culture, and each floor carries its own selection.
Room signage takes the form of oversized luggage tags. The tags carry 181 curated quotes, and every guestroom displays its own message.
The food and beverage side moved with the rooms. The Blue Bar Restaurant & Lounge carries new menu items, new cocktails and redesigned menus, made with The Al Hirschfeld Foundation. Archival Hirschfeld drawings appear on the menus. The hotel's own site presents the outlet on an all-day dining menu.
CRÈME kept the existing proportions of the guestrooms. The firm worked to the building's original framework.
What the announcement leaves open
The announcement states no project cost, no construction partner and no contractor. It gives no start date for the programme, no date for the last phase and no count of corridors or floors. The elevator scope reads as the elevators in full, without a count.
Three items sit outside the announcement. The hotel has not said whether public spaces beyond the corridors and the elevators fall inside the programme. It has not published the number of rooms that hold the gold leaf Central Park illustration. It has not said whether the design team stays on the property for further work.
The property
The Algonquin opened on November 22, 1902 at 59 West 44th Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. Marriott International's Autograph Collection carries the hotel.