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The very first full-service boutique hotel in Washington Heights is officially open for business.
Radio Hotel at 2420 Amsterdam Avenue right by the George Washington Bridge celebrated its ribbon cutting earlier this week (surprise, surprise: Mayor Eric Adams was present) but residents have been talking about the colorful building—which resembles a giant stack of Legos—for quite some time now.
According to the Commercial Observer, the 23-story development was designed this particular way by a Dutch architecture firm called MVRDV alongside local hotel design company Stonehill Taylor. Both parties wished for the venue to be very visible from the bridge, specifically standing out in a way that a hotel in, say, midtown Manhattan wouldn't be able to.
The choice of colors isn't random either. "Each section of the structure is modeled after a nearby building in the area and incorporating design and color patterns seen among storefronts in the community," reads an official press release about the opening, suggesting the project to be a celebration of the neighborhood.
Lest you think the destination to be all form and no substance, think again: according to the Commercial Observer, each one of the 221 rooms now available for booking is themed around a primary color to match the facade.
"One suite of rooms has royal blue bathrooms, with matching tile, ceilings, floors, shelves and even the bathroom’s exterior wall," reports the outlet. "Another group of rooms has bright red bathrooms, and a third is bright yellow. The hotel rooms are outfitted in midcentury-inspired, light wood furniture that tends toward the modular, particularly in smaller, pod-sized rooms."
But there's more: Radio Hotel is also home to a 10,000-square-foot event space, an 8,000-square-foot courtyard and a beautiful rooftop offering unparalleled views of the Manhattan skyline.
As for the property's name, it's an ode to on-site restaurant Jalao's co-owner Antonio Espaillat, who manages over 60 radio stations in the Dominican Republic—that's why guests will also notice a podcast booth in the lobby that will sometimes be used for live recordings.
Suddenly, we're itching for a staycation way, way uptown.