THE BERTH OF SOMETHING SPECIAL
Navigating North American hospitality development is a challenge at the best of times — especially these days — and so, landing a world-class hotel on a site that attracts up to 9 million visitors annually is a considerable accomplishment. That is exactly what Maverick Hotels and Restaurants and ACRON USA recently achieved with the brand new 223-room Sable at Navy Pier hotel located on Chicago’s storied Navy Pier. The LEED Silver-certified property opened in March and is already lauded as a model for public-private cooperation, sustainable design and technological advancement.
Named for the USS Sable naval training vessel that was stationed at the pier during World War II, Sable at Navy Pier channels the nautical pedigree of its site perched high above Lake Michigan. The guestrooms are completed with weathered brass, shipbuilding materials and the smooth curves of a ship’s interior cabin. Each room includes serenity beds, spacious living room areas and window seats with angled surfaces and textured exteriors that reflect the changing light and color of the lake and amplify it within each space. All guestrooms have floor-to-ceiling windows, some overlooking the vast expanse of the lake and others with view of Chicago’s impressive shoreline and iconic skyline.
Sable at Navy Pier is the 100th property of the Curio Collection of boutique hotels by Hilton. The hotel features 4,300 sq. ft. of meeting and event space and is home to Lirica, a Latin-inspired restaurant, and Offshore, the world’s largest rooftop bar. Local attractions on the pier include numerous restaurants, shops and boutiques at Navy Pier and, of course, Chicago’s bustling urban core.
“Developing a property on Navy Pier is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and the team considered every detail to ensure the guest experience lives up the unique setting,” explains David Goldstone Senior Vice President & Chief Customer Advocate at World Cinema, the technology partner charged with outfitting the guestrooms and shared spaces. “We were brought in to deliver a high-performing, highly-reliable technology platform that could advance entertainment, infotainment and personalization, all while matching the design aesthetic of the guestrooms.”
For Goldstone and his World Cinema team the currency of successful hospitality is trust. “As a service business, we earn the trust of our partners with every assignment. So, when we’re trusted to deliver an exceptional technology experience we also need to trust that our technology vendors will perform at the highest level,” Goldstone explains. “LG Electronics innately understands this which is why they’ve been one of the best in hospitality televisions for so long. The organization is culturally aligned to hospitality and appreciates what it takes to consistently deliver the optimal guest experience.”
Goldstone is referring to his group’s selection of LG 55” UT570H hospitality televisions for the guestrooms at Sable at Navy Pier. The UT570H series is LG’s Pro:Centric Enahanced Hospitality UHD TV featuring Pro:Centric and Pro:Idiom technologies for easy management, configuration, and updates to guest rooms TVs via a centralized management system.
“Just as it takes a crew to sail a tall ship, it takes a team to execute an idea of this caliber,” says Todd Dellinger, Western Regional Account Manager, LG Electronics Commercial Displays Division. “We’re pleased to work with the community of individuals and organizations that have brought this exceptional concept to life. Sable at Navy Pier is a triumph of shared ambition and an inspiration to the hospitality industry at this time of flux.”
Goldstone agrees. “Clear communication between the partners on an assignment leads to mutual understanding that is fundamental to a successful hospitality project,” he explains. “Any lapse is immediately apparent in the finished product. That was not the case with Sable at Navy Pier!”
Goldstone is quick to credit the team at The Gettys Group Companies as key contributors to the brand and guest experience of Sable at Navy Pier. The Gettys Group Chairman and CEO, Roger Hill, took personal interest in Sable at Navy Pier, working closely with the Maverick and Acron teams; architectural firm, KOO; contractors James McHugh Construction and Powers & Sons Construction; hotel General Manager, Laurent Boisdron; FF&E procurement firm, Beyer Brown and Goldstone’s World Cinema. Hill’s branding team considered all of the touchpoints — visual and tactile — that guests would have with Sable at Navy Pier.
“Purposeful design is how civilization evolved and it’s also how clever businesses differentiate their brand, define their product offering and attract guests,” Hill says. “But purposeful design does not have to be obvious or intrusive. The LG hospitality televisions feel right at home in the guestrooms of Sable at Navy Pier; the welcome pages and menus complement the branding decisions we made at the property and yet the immense technology horsepower is completely transparent.”
As hospitality business builds momentum in 2021, Sable at Navy Pier is optimally positioned to capitalize on travel to Chicago and its much-loved, much-visited pier attraction on Lake Michigan’s shore. General Manager Boisdron is confident that guests will appreciate how they can take their stay at their preferred pace.
“This is a unique place where you can be at the epicenter of it all one minute and enjoy the serenity of your guestroom the next,” Boisdron explains. “As occupancy returns to full-strength guests want to stay at places like Sable at Navy Pier where they have access to all the attractions of one of the world’s greatest cities but also guestrooms with amenities like serenity beds, 55-inch LG televisions, comfortable living room spaces, and spectacularly beautiful views of Lake Michigan and Chicago’s skyline.”
The combined result of this extended group’s work is a new property with strong commercial potential once the shadow of COVID has lifted. We expect smooth sailing for this accomplished crew.
