Visitors to Westchester County and the surrounding area will now have a new place to rest their heads in Yonkers.
Boston-based hotel management company Pyramid Hotel Group opened the doors of the Courtyard Yonkers by Marriott at 5 Executive Blvd. earlier this month.
“It”™s been fantastic,” said Brandon Glen, director of sales and marketing at the new hotel. “We”™re probably at 45 percent (capacity) compared to 22 percent last week and 4 percent the day we opened.”
With more than 2,800 square feet of meeting space split between two conference rooms, the 154-room hotel is targeted to the burgeoning business community.
“I think that”™s going to be our wheelhouse,” Glen said. “I think this area has been underserved with quality meeting space. Otherwise, you have to go to downtown White Plains or you have to go to Rye. There”™s not a lot in Yonkers of quality, high-tech meeting space.”
Owned by Norwich Partners, a New England and Florida-based hotel developer and investor, the hotel also features a number of media pods in its front lobby. These pods offer flexible seating, televisions, complimentary Wi-Fi and can be used for additional meeting or breakout space for area companies, Glen said.
“I think with the city”™s redevelopment and things like the Generation Yonkers (marketing campaign), you”™re going to see an increase in companies moving in” to Yonkers, Glen said. “I hope so, for sure.”
The hotel is also home to The Bistro, an eatery that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, along with Starbucks drinks, beer, wine and cocktails. Other amenities of the hotel include a pool and fitness center.
The hotel also features an outdoor space complete with a variety of plush seating arrangements and a fire pit.
“I don”™t think a lot of people are going to expect to find this in Yonkers off of Executive Boulevard,” Glen said.
Glen also believes the hotel, which features 87 king and 67 double-bed rooms, will serve tourists who plan to visit New York City.
“For business, Westchester has always been strong, but I think we”™re seeing the growth of Yonkers from a leisure standpoint,” he said. “With the proximity to the Greystone (Metro-North Railroad station,) we”™re four minutes from the train. If you”™re looking at either a one-night stay at $350, $400 in the city or you can come up here and spend $150 per night, which one are you going to choose for your small retreat?”
The Courtyard shares a parking lot with another Norwich-owned and Pyramid-managed hotel in South Westchester Executive Park, the Residence Inn at 7 Executive Boulevard.
Pyramid took over management of the two properties in December, taking the reins from True North Hotel Group, a Kansas-based hotel development and management company, prior to the completion of the Courtyard”™s construction.
Along with their management duties, Pyramid was tasked with finishing the development of the Courtyard. Glen said when he joined the project, “carpets were down, and some product was in some of the rooms, but in boxes.”
“We wouldn”™t have built this if there wasn”™t demand in the market, and I don”™t see Yonkers shrinking anytime soon with the efforts that the city is putting together,” he said. “I think for the longest time, many of the hotels were running north of 90 percent occupancy.”
The Courtyard also plans to take advantage of the Boyce Thompson Center, the $35 million project that is across Executive Boulevard from the hotel. Nearing completion by Simone Development Cos., the 85,000-square-foot mixed-use development is set to be unveiled to the public on May 23. Restaurants will include Italian eatery Fortina, The Taco Project and a Japanese restaurant.
“You can do meals with us, but you don”™t want to be stuck in the hotel 24/7, so you can go to Boyce Thompson, you can go to the Untermyer Gardens, Lenoir Preserve,” he said. “Those experiences are what people are looking for.”
Pyramid Hotel Group also manages Tarrytown House Estate on the Hudson at 49 E. Sunnyside Lane, Crowne Plaza at 18 Old Ridgebury Road in Danbury and the Renaissance Woodbridge Hotel in Iselin, New Jersey. The company also operates the new Courtyard New York Manhattan/World Trade Center hotel in Lower Manhattan.
