Quin Hotel to Open in New York City

New York, NY (USA) – 23 May 2012 — Situated on 57th Street, a short block away from Carnegie Hall, stands an elegant 18-story pre-War building with a history that is fully intertwined with an entire era of world-class music. The former Buckingham Hotel, once home to icons like Paderewski and Tebaldi, has been rechristened the Quin (www.theQuinhotel.com) and re-imagined as a new luxury hotel where art, design and nature blend seamlessly to create a sanctuary from the city at an incomparably central address. Launching in winter 2012 and operated by Highgate Hotels, a leading independent hospitality management company, the Quin lies in the midst of the 57th Street gallery district, a mere block away from the grandest of the Fifth Avenue retailers, and within easy walking-distance to Lincoln Center, the Museum of Modern Art and Rockefeller Plaza. The Quin aims to deliver nothing less than the essence of New York in an atmosphere of serene elegance that is perfectly calibrated to revitalize travelers partaking in the multifarious forms of magic that lie just outside its doors.

A Melodious Past: The Quin’s Historic Pedigree

In 1929, the handsome Buckingham Hotel opened its doors on one of Manhattan’s choicest corners: 57th Street and Sixth Avenue. One of its first tenants was also one of the world’s most famous musicians: Ignacy Jan Paderewski, the pianist and composer who was the first Prime Minister of Poland. Paderewski lived in the hotel until his death in 1941, when mourners lined up around the block to pay their respects. Others who made their home at The Buckingham in the first half of the 20th Century include Academy Award-winning composer Dmitri Tiomkin, Metropolitan Opera stars Giuseppe De Luca and Giovanni Martinelli, and actor Max Hoffman Jr.

From the ‘50s onward, its reputation as the preferred home for the musical elite firmly established, The Buckingham was the Manhattan address for Met stalwarts Paul Schöffler, Victoria de los Angeles, and – for almost 20 years – celebrated soprano Renata Tebaldi. Broadway’s Bobby Van and legendary saxophonist Gato Barbieri were also guests, as was opera star Regina Resnik, who generously loaned the hotel her husband Arbit Blatas’s oil portraits of cellist Mstislav Rostropovich and pianist Arthur Rubenstein.

A Harmonious Future: The Quin Takes New Shape

Today, this storied address is being re-fashioned as the ultimate urban refuge – and perhaps the city’s most ideally situated luxury hotel. This sanctuary from the city in the center of the city will offer unparalleled personal service, including dedicated “Quintessential Assistants” who are there to anticipate guests’ every need; a signature haute-American restaurant with a major chef at its helm; a state-of-the-art Fitness Center with top-of-the-line Technogym equipment, and trainers offering customized exercise plans; a spa partnership with Fresh®; and a state of the art Business Center. Luxurious public spaces will celebrate the hotel’s artistic heritage, with a permanent gallery featuring the works of acclaimed Irish painter Patrick Graham, and a restaurant menu featuring light fare, destined to become a prime addition to the city’s roster of pre- and post-show gathering spots.

As re-conceived by renowned architecture and design firm Perkins Eastman, the Quin’s 200 elegantly appointed rooms will include 11 junior suites, 10 one-bedroom suites, and specialty suites including the Ignacy Paderewski Suite, the Georgia O’Keefe Suite, the Blackbird Suite, including a corner terrace and named after Irish artist Patrick Graham’s series of artwork located in the hotel lobby.

Additionally, the Quin will offer a breathtaking triplex specialty suite that is among the city’s largest and most exquisite accommodations. The 2 -bedroom, 2 ½ bath marvel is appointed with Carrera Venetino marble, rich walnut floors, a 1,200 square foot terrace overlooking Central Park and two additional terraces flanking the suite’s two bedrooms. Guests of the triplex specialty suite will enjoy in-suite check-in, complimentary breakfast, and ongoing use of a Quintessential Assistant.

Reflecting the hotel’s signature approach to “intelligent warmth,” all guest rooms will feature a mix of lacquered wood and sustainable materials, chic custom furnishings, king-size Duxiana beds, sparkling bath sanctuaries with glass-enclosed showers and an array of Fresh® products, and personal espresso makers.

In Perfect Unison: Delivering the Quintessence of New York

When it opens its doors in winter 2012, the Quin will occupy a unique place in the city’s firmament of luxury hotels. Seamlessly uniting its rich musical history with distinctly 21st-Century finesse, the hotel serves up timeless elegance and contemporary flair in equal parts. The team behind the transformation speaks of the Quin as a “refined refuge,” a “sanctuary in the city” and “a haven of Arcadian calm.”

But they are also quick to point out its peerless location at “the crossroads of cosmopolitan cool,” making the Quin an ideal home base for daytime shopping sprees at Bergdorf Goodman, Tiffany and Henri Bendel; magical nights at the symphony, opera and Broadway stage; leisurely strolls through Central Park; feasting on art at nearby museums and the 80+ galleries that line the surrounding blocks; and dining in some of the city’s (if not the world’s) finest restaurants – Per Se, Masa, and Le Bernardin among them.

Uniting the stimulating world around the Quin and the peaceful retreat within its walls is an incomparable group of hospitality pros. The Quin staff place a premium on warmth and welcome, personal attention, and (fittingly, given the building’s illustrious heritage) creating a home for those whose personal or professional ambitions have led them to the very center of the city – this remarkable crossroads of art, culture, commerce and leisure. In their capable hands, the traveler is able to experience exactly the city that he or she came to see. And just as the Quin provides a gateway to the magic of Manhattan, it also delivers on the promise of what a great urban hotel should be.

Media Contact:
Joe O’Donnell/Amanda Schinder
Nancy J. Friedman Public Relations
(212) 228-1500
Joe@njfpr.com / ASchinder@njfpr.com