THE QUEENS
AUGUST 2021
Queens community leaders celebrate grand opening
of Hyatt Regency hotel at Resorts World New York
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED AND
GABRIELE HOLTERMANN
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Hyatt Regency JFK Airport at Resorts
World New York on Friday, Aug. 6, celebrated
its grand opening with a ribbon
cutting ceremony welcoming guests
to experience the city’s newest shopping,
dining and entertainment destination in
Queens.
Executives from Genting Americas East
— which owns the hotel, casino and Hyatt
— and local elected offi cials as well as
community members attended the celebration,
which included a traditional lion
dance performance.
“We are excited to debut Hyatt Regency
JFK Airport at Resorts World New York
and invite guests to experience our intuitive
hospitality as they relax and recharge
aft er a day of gaming, dining and entertainment,”
said Brian Reynolds, senior
vice president of Resorts World New York
City. “Working with our Resorts World
team, we’re pleased to deliver on an innovative
and seamless experience that is sure
to energize travelers.”
Bob DeSalvio, president of Genting
Americas East, said they’re honored to
collaborate with Hyatt and are proud to
welcome guests from all over the world
and provide them with a “truly unparalleled
casino resort experience in the heart
of New York.”
“Th ere is no better way to celebrate
Resorts World’s 10th anniversary than
with the opening of this world-class hotel
in New York City,” DeSalvio said. “While
the hotel has always been part of our
vision, today’s ribbon-cutting takes on
additional signifi cance as we celebrate the
Queens community and do our part to
move New York forward.”
Faced with COVID-19 amid the construction
of the $400 million hotel —
which took three years to build —presented
quite a challenge. DeSalvio acknowledged
the dedication of the architects,
engineers and construction workers who
fi nished the project under unprecedented
circumstances.
“We have never, ever experienced anything
like this,” DeSalvio said. “Th e project,
shutting down, we mobilized to get
the construction going again. And then
to have just come out and look like this
in record time, it’s really quite an amazing
feat.”
Admitting he was “a little biased,”
DeSalvio proclaimed that the only resort
that came close to the New York City location
was Resorts World in the Catskills,
also a Genting property, and said that
the company’s experience in developing
resorts was going to make the NYC location
a “world-class destination for New
Yorkers to enjoy close to home as well as
for visitors from around the globe, to be
able to enjoy what they’re seeing here, a
truly great place to dine, to stay, to shop,
and gaming, as well, and be entertained.”
Queens Borough President Donovan
Richards said the opening of the hotel is
another “huge step forward in Queens’
comeback.”
“We’re open for business,” Richards
said. “What a better way to come out of
this pandemic and bring jobs back?”
State Senators Joseph Addabbo Jr. and
Leroy Comrie also lauded Hyatt Regency
and Resorts World as job creators.
“Th is project means jobs. It means hundreds
of construction jobs, good union
jobs, and then post-construction about
500 jobs. So it means jobs in an economy
that really needs it,” Addabbo said.
Comrie said “forget Manhattan,” inviting
people to visit the “World’s Borough”
and stay at the Hyatt Regency, which he
described as well-designed.
“Come to Queens and enjoy yourself.
Come to Queens and have a good time,”
Comrie said.
Congressman Gregory Meeks talked
about the impact the new resort would
have on the economy of Queens County
and New York City by creating “goodpaying
jobs.”
“Th ese kinds of things are contagious,”
Meeks said, hoping that other businesses
will follow suit.
Hyatt Regency JFK Airport at Resorts
World New York is an eight-story, luxury
hotel, featuring 400 residential-inspired
guest rooms and premium suites with
energizing design and
insightful in-room
technology.
Th e hotel also features
the worldrenowned
Sugar
Factory Restaurant, a
fi tness center, state-ofthe
art conference and
meeting spaces and additional
gaming areas. Th e
centerpiece of the property
is a soaring grand
lobby, perfectly suited for
art exhibits, events and
musical performances, that connects the
hotel with Resorts World New York City
(RWNYC), which opened in 2011.
Guest rooms
Th e hotel features 400 guest rooms
including 275 king rooms, 91 double
rooms and 34 suites. Th e variety of
accommodations is ideal for business
and leisure travelers alike thanks to an
incredibly convenient location near JFK
Airport. Th e oversized suites are designed
to make guests feel at home with kitchenettes
and separate living spaces. Many of
the chic guest rooms off er fl oor-to-ceiling
windows looking out to the city’s skyline.
Entertainment
Th e property off ers 6,500 slots and electronic
table games. Resorts World features
three unique levels of gaming: Times
Square Casino, Fift h Avenue Casino and
Central Park Casino, along with several
high-limit rooms.
Th e $400 million hotel and amenities
investment has long been part of
Genting’s vision of bringing a destination
resort, popular in global locations such
as Las Vegas and Singapore, to New York
City. Th e resort seamlessly features a variety
of non-gaming amenities to complement
the most innovative gaming products
and entertainment off erings, allowing
guests of all interests and budgets an
experience that fi ts their personal tastes.
Th is development brings the total
investment in Resorts World New York
City to over $1.1 billion aft er Genting
spent more than $700 million to enhance
the existing Aqueduct grandstand to
become a leading entertainment destination.
Th e hotel addition has created hundreds
of good-paying careers for
New Yorkers and will provide
additional revenue for
New York State’s Lottery
Education Fund. Resorts
World has already generated
more than $3 billion for
New York’s public schools.
Meetings and
events
Beyond redefining
the hotel experience for
leisure guests, the new
hotel applies a hightouch
experience for meetings
and events, with
5,000 square feet of total
function space and stateof
the-art meeting facilities
all backed by a dedicated
team off ering meeting planners a
seamless, confi dent service for themselves
and attendees.
Th e rooms are designed to host a range
of events including corporate meetings,
art exhibits and community programs.
Including Resorts World New York City,
the property will now have more than
64,000 square feet of event space.
Dining
Sugar Factory, the world-renowned café
and confectionary shop, is open for breakfast,
lunch and dinner. Its signature menu
items include decadent milkshakes and
old-fashioned sundaes.
Guests can also enjoy additional food
and beverage options including a convenient
Grab ‘n’ Go. Regency Club guests
can enjoy daily continental breakfast and
evening hors d’oeuvres and light snacks at
this exclusive club.
For more information, visit rwnewyork.
com or hyattregency.com. Located minutes
away from JFK Airport, the hotel is
accessible by the A Train, Q37 bus, and
LIRR to Jamaica Station with pickup from
a free casino shuttle.
Photos by Gabriele Holtermann
Elected offi cials and representatives of Hyatt Regency and Genting Group at the
ribbon cutting ceremony of the Hyatt Regency JFK Airport at Resorts World NYC.
Queens Borough President Donovan
Richards addresses guests at the
ribbon-cutting ceremony.
link
/hyattregency.com
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