Natural Elements Pop in the Grayson Hotel’s Dining Destinations

How do you bring the welcome idiosyncrasy of boutique hotels to bear on a multinational hospitality chain? For Hyatt, it’s via the Unbound Collection, a portfolio of franchised, independent properties. The smart arrangement gives owners the freedom to focus on what makes their property distinct while still benefitting from a global distribution network and loyalty program.

The first New York destination under the Unbound umbrella is the 296-key Grayson Hotel (developed by owner/operator the Fortuna Hotel Collection), located steps away from Bryant Park in a crisp ground-up building by MarceLLO Pozzi Architecture and Design. The Grayson’s four F&B spaces were conceived by hospitality group Apicii and designed by branding and interiors firm Dutch East Design. Cofounders Dieter Cartwright, Larah Moravek, and William Oberlin leveraged their collective experience working at hospitality-forward firms such as Clodagh, Markzeff, and Yabu Pushelberg to create a series of spaces with narrative panache. There’s Harta, a loosely Mediterranean brasserie with patio dining; Bar Harta, a greenhouse wine bar accessed by a spiral stair; and Bar Cima, a rooftop tequila and mezcal bar in saturated colors that play on the palette of Luis Barragán. (A secret garden taquería, Tacelle, opens later this spring.)

Nature-inspired elements support the indoor-outdoor flow throughout. Harta, the primary restaurant, emphasizes tactile handmade materials, such as the dimensional terra-cotta datum, tricolor hex-shape parquet flooring, and the patio’s mural of an abstract Mediterranean sunset. At Bar Harta, timber trellises, canvas lanterns, and a feature wall of handmade glazed ceramic tile create a plein-air feel. And at Bar Cima, on the 28th floor, jewel tones prevail inside, and one bold move anchors the terrace: the back wall clad in pattered tile by Nathalie Du Pasquier, a founding member of Memphis. “At each venue, we aimed for immersive design that transports guests away from the bustle of Midtown,” Moravek says. It’s all in keeping with what Dutch East Design sees as the future of hospitality: bold expressions from passionate proprietors. It’s a description that fits Hyatt’s Unbound Collection, too.

Inside the Dining Destinations at the Grayson Hotel

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