As part of a $13 million renovation, the Hyatt Regency Indianapolis has added 10,000 square feet of meeting space, including a new ballroom, a restaurant, and a lounge, and made major improvements and modernizations to its lobby.
The centerpiece of the project, which was completed this fall, is the new Cosmopolitan Ballroom. The 8,226-square-foot, column-free ballroom, divisible by four, is on the third floor, in the space where a restaurant formerly stood. A foyer/registration area was created outside the ballroom, overlooking the dramatic 21-story atrium, around which all 497 guest rooms on 21 floors circle. Floor-to-ceiling windows on the elevators offer spectacular atrium views. Workers are changing the thousands of light bulbs that illuminate the four elevators in the 21-story elevator tower to energy-efficient bulbs.
Also on the third floor, administrative offices have been transformed into two meeting rooms totaling 1,546 square feet. The rooms feature large windows overlooking the Indiana Repertory Theater.
The new ballroom and meeting space complement the existing 9,400-square-foot Regency Ballroom. The hotel now boasts 21 meeting rooms, two ballrooms, and 35,000 square feet of meeting space. Along with new carpeting and wallcoverings throughout the meeting area, the 21 meeting rooms have new names—such as vision, discovery, theory, and network—designed to inspire and motivate attendees, says Brian Comes, general manager.
Two new eateries anchor the renovated lobby. Level One Lounge hosts “tailgate” parties before Colts games, and One South serves Italian/American cuisine. The lobby was completely renovated with stone flooring, contemporary furnishings, additional seating, and a redesigned front desk and entryway with several new check-in kiosks. From the lobby, enclosed skyways connect to the Circle Center Mall, the Indiana Convention Center, the RCA Dome, and seven other city hotels.
No account of the Hyatt Regency Indianapolis is complete without mentioning the Eagles Nest Restaurant on the top floor. This revolving venue offers spectacular 360-degree views of city—it takes about 45 minutes to go around once. It has been named the most romantic restaurant in Indianapolis 10 years running.
The improvements at this Hyatt-owned property come at a time when the city is teeming with new hotel development, including a four-hotel Marriott Complex with more than 1,500 rooms. The changes were necessary to stay current with the competition, officials say.
—Dave Kovaleski