Hyatt Place Hotel + Sea Star Banquet & Events Center

BBS served as Architect and MEP Engineer for this destination resort, Hyatt Place East End, situated in the downtown Riverhead and adjacent to the Long Island Aquarium. The complex project required the coordination of two new site components, the hotel and the events center, on a restrictive, L-shaped footprint and in aesthetic and structural concert with the existing Long Island Aquarium facility.

The $17.8-million undertaking encompassed the five-story, 100-room, 75,000-square-foot hotel structure with a 1,300-square-foot indoor pool and fitness facility and a second outdoor pool, as well as an adjacent, three-story, 23,000-square-foot Sea Star Banquet and Events Center which features a 325-seat ballroom and a direct access to the adjacent Long Island Aquarium through the first floor lobby, the third floor Sea Star Ballroom with panoramic views of the Peconic River and marina, and 5,300 square feet of flexible meeting, catering and banquet space.

The Sea Star Banquet and Events Center

The existing Long Island Aquarium serves to anchor the complex to the west with its highly graphic street presence. The new Banquet and Events Center complements the aquarium and the urban Hyatt Place hotel in design materials and color, and can accommodate weddings and other special events in it. The design of the two new site components required extensive coordination between private and corporate entities. The hotel has one hundred well-equipped rooms, informal lounge and gathering areas, an indoor pool, and an outdoor riverfront pool and deck area.

The interior of the Banquet and Events Center is evocative of a maritime environment with coral stone walls, mosaic tile and nautical accents. The first floor of the Center is the Exhibition Hall and the main entry lobby for the facility. The intermediate second floor of the Center serves as conference, office, and storage areas. The second floor mezzanine has offices, the bridal suite and storage. From there, a grand stair with a decorative, iron hand railing leads up past a central glass chandelier up to the main ballroom on the third floor.

Once on the third floor, visitors gain views through the smaller dining area out to Main Street, then turn to be welcomed into the ballroom itself.  A forced perspective upon entry leads one’s eye to the riparian vistas beyond, then the intricate ceiling patterns that anchor the space from above.  The third floor is the banquet hall or ballroom floor as well as a café which faces Main Street. The Café was previously an outdoor balcony but this was enclosed to create the café.

The Hyatt Place East End Hotel

The Hyatt Place East End hotel is physically separate from the Events Center; however, the two structures are visually unified through material and color. The hotel’s exterior finishes include brick and stucco with a glass curtain wall. The two-story, central atrium upon entry has a sloped glass curtain.  The portico share is steel and glass. Floors three through five feature Hyatt franchise prototype guest room layouts in queen, queen studio, king versions with handicapped accessibility. The finishes include flat screen TVs, bathrooms with shower or tub features, and porcelain tiles in the floor and shower areas.  The vanity tops are black granite. Each room has a bed, sofa bed pull-out, desk area, and refrigerator bar area and the rooms are finished with carpeting and vinyl wall finishes that are Hyatt-specific.

During construction, BBS designed all new storm drainage, ran new electrical and gas services and permeable pavers for the entry drive. The structure is built on 500-700 wood timber piles with a depth of 35-50 feet due to varying soil conditions. Grade beams were erected on the timber piles; 5 inch concrete slab was poured on the timber piles and wood-bearing CMUs constructed on top of the slab. The roof was all precast plank EPDM. The construction took about two weeks per floor.

Project Facts