Luxury hotel chain chooses region for five-star property

TAMPA — Pendry, a luxury hotelier with hotels in Hollywood, Chicago, Manhattan and Baltimore, is coming to Tampa.

The company will announce this morning, Nov. 10, that its newest hotel will be in downtown Tampa on the city’s River Walk. The five-star hotel will be part of a 37-story luxury tower being built by Pendry Hotels & Resorts and Two Roads Development, which owns the site and is the primary developer. The hotel will take up the bottom third of the building and condominiums the other third.

The tower itself will be built on a vacant piece of property between Ashley Drive South and the River Walk and Whiting Street and Brorein Streets.

Reid Boren, managing partner at Two Roads, says that Pendry chose Tampa is a sign that this is “a city on the rise.”

“Tampa is ripe for this,” Boren says.

“Pendry was the best fit. It’s just a new kind of luxury. Everybody feels comfortable there. You feel comfortable bringing your children there. You feel comfortable with the level of five-star service that some of the older generation values. And you have this cool, hip vibe that (someone in their) 20s, 30s appreciates. There are very few brands that I’ve stayed that accomplish that simultaneously.”

Pendry, which opened in 2015 and is part of the Montage International chain of luxury hotels, resorts and residences, describes itself a luxury boutique brand. A promotional video introducing the company paints a picture of a hotel differentiating itself in each city, yet bringing amenities that travelers expecting the highest level of service expect. 

On its website, Pendry describes its level of luxury as “polished comfort, modern edge.”

“Each property is injected with a unique perspective on contemporary style, and an emphasis on the arts and local community in the city it calls home.”

Pendry currently operates in four cities and will soon open in Park City, Utah, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Washington D.C. Montage, which started in 2002, has properties outside Los Angeles in Laguna Beach, on Kapalua Bay Beach in Maui, Hawaii, and Cabo San Lucas in Mexico.

Montage was founded by Alan Fuerstman, who remains chairman and CEO. His son Michael is the cofounder and creative director of Pendry.

In Tampa, the hotel will include 220 rooms, a luxury spa and a rooftop pool on a deck overlooking the Hillsborough River along with standard fare like a restaurant, a lobby bar and café.  On the floors above the hotel will be 207 condominiums that will come with a dedicated residential staff and offer all the amenities available to the hotel guests.

Condo residents will have a private entrance, but once inside the building will have access to the hotel.

Prices for those units will start at $900,000 with penthouses in the $3 million to $4 million range.

Boren would not disclose the price of the development. He said construction would begin as soon as the property hit a pre-sale target he hopes to reach by the middle of next year.