The 30 Best Hotel Openings of 2021

Rockwell Group is as well-regarded for its ephemeral stage sets as its hospitality spaces, so the New York firm was a fitting choice for the CIVILIAN Hotel, the affordable lifestyle project from veteran hotelier Jason Pomeranc, cofounder and owner of SIXTY Hotels. The hotel, complete with a secret garden, is located on the fringes of New York’s Theater District, and Rockwell Group used that historic backdrop to shape the design narrative. That comes to life through an abundance of rotating and permanent artifacts (more than 350 to be exact), sketches, archival photographs, and set models curated by Rockwell and a team of theatrical designers that celebrate cultural touchstones from bygone Broadway. The 203 cinematic guestrooms, meanwhile, recall theater dressing rooms with drapery panels, marquee lighting, and closets redolent of costume trunks. Photo by Johnny Miller