Times Square is getting a new attraction. Hyatt Hotels Corporation and Extell Development Company have announced The StandardX Times Square, a hotel of about 1,800 rooms at 255 West 45th Street, in the heart of Manhattan’s Theatre District.
Expected to open in the second half of 2028, the property will offer more than a place to sleep. Guests will find an enclosed free-fall thrill ride high above the city, an observation deck more than 1,000 feet (around 305 metres) above Manhattan, a rooftop pool and a rooftop bar and lounge.
The project will be the first StandardX hotel in North America. Extell is the New York developer behind landmark towers such as Central Park Tower and One57, as well as the W Hotel Times Square. The building at 255 West 45th Street will combine hospitality, dining and entertainment, and it promises to change the city’s skyline.
The StandardX is the younger, more irreverent sibling of The Standard. That brand was founded in 1999 and has flagship hotels in New York, London and Bangkok, plus European addresses in Brussels and Ibiza. The idea behind the spin-off is simple: keep what makes a Standard hotel special and drop the rest. Rooms are simpler and service more relaxed, but the brand’s design sense and attitude remain intact. The hotel serves as a base, while the surrounding neighbourhood is the real attraction.
There is only one StandardX so far, in Melbourne’s creative Fitzroy district. The 125-room boutique hotel has a rooftop, several dining options and a busy events calendar that ranges from wine tastings to DJ sets. The format is designed to connect travellers with local life instead of keeping them inside the hotel.
Times Square works on a very different scale, and Hyatt presents the new hotel as a one-off flagship, not a template for future StandardX openings. Its design will reflect New York’s theatrical character, with bold colours, sculptural shapes, and unexpected touches. The guestrooms will be expressive but uncomplicated. The public spaces will bring together design, music and the social energy The Standard is known for.
Restaurants, bars and nightlife venues will run from street level to the top of the building, and they are meant to attract New Yorkers as well as hotel guests. The aim is to bring the cultural spirit of The Standard, High Line and The Standard, East Village to a very different part of the city. Details on the dining and nightlife concepts and on creative collaborations will be announced later.
For Amar Lalvani, Chief Creative Officer at Hyatt, The StandardX takes The Standard’s core idea of being part of the city and makes it simpler and easier to access. “Usually, that means putting people in the middle of an interesting neighbourhood, with everything happening right outside the door. In Times Square, a lot of it will be happening right inside the building,” he said. “I love that. It’s energetic, theatrical and completely over the top. We want to embrace that, have some fun with it, and create something that could only happen in New York. And only right there.”
