The Algonquin Hotel, Autograph Collection, has finished a full renovation of all guestrooms, elevators and corridors. LODGING Magazine reported the completion on 18 September 2026. The work ran across several years in phases, and the property stayed open through all of it.
Brooklyn interior design firm CRÈME / Jun Aizaki Architecture & Design led the redesign. LUCID, the design and development arm of Highgate Hotels, worked with the firm. The hotel states two ideas drove the project: the property's legacy and a tribute to New York City.
Hirschfeld Runs Through the Building
Every guestroom and suite carries a custom triptych with Al Hirschfeld pieces. The hotel curated the collection with The Al Hirschfeld Foundation and its director, David Leopold. One piece appears in this property alone: a gold leaf-accented Central Park illustration made for the hotel.
The corridors carry archival Hirschfeld work across theater, music, literature and popular culture. Each floor holds its own selection. The pieces come from across Hirschfeld's 80-year career in the city. Leopold said the hotel and the foundation curated a collection that can be found in no other property.
Room signage takes the shape of oversized luggage tags. The signs carry 181 quotes the hotel curated from figures who created or influenced it. The cast includes Kermit the Frog, Maya Angelou, John Leguizamo, The Notorious B.I.G. and Dorothy Parker.
What Changed Inside
CRÈME kept the historic footprint. The rooms carry brass fixtures, layered lighting and marble-topped furnishings shaped by the hotel's original stairwells. The material list runs to walnut, ebonized oak, aged bronze and charcoal velvet headboards. The palette covers celadon, peacock green, charcoal and soft neutrals. The corridor carpeting uses jazz-inspired patterns.
The Blue Bar Restaurant & Lounge has new menu items and cocktails. The hotel created the redesigned menus with The Al Hirschfeld Foundation, and the menus carry archival Hirschfeld drawings.
The Landmark
The hotel opened in 1902 at 59 West 44th Street. It holds 156 rooms and 25 suites. Members of the Algonquin Round Table met in the building in the early 20th century. The property is a New York City designated landmark.
Willis Loughhead is the general manager, in his sixth year at the helm. "Our focus was to honor the past without being beholden to it; timeless rooms were built where creativity can be sparked, and our landmark charm will be enlivened," he said.