New High-Tech Hotel Takes Over a Historic Fort Worth Building, Promising Cutting Edge Perks
July 25,2019
See full Paper City article by Megan Ziots here.
A buzzy new hotel with smart technology, 360 degree rooftop views and a modern steakhouse restaurant is opening in downtown Fort Worth this fall. The Sinclair is located at 512 Main Street and features 164 hotel rooms amongst 16 floors.
Being the first building in the world to replace a diesel generator and backup power source with a lithium ion battery pack, the 1929 building has been greatly spruced up to include in-room network presence sending technology. This is just a fancy way of saying that you can automate and customize your in-room experience, including the lighting, shades, locks and minibar.
The lobby of the historical hotel will feature art deco design, a lounge area and oyster bar. The hotel restaurant, Wicked Butcher, is below in the remodeled basement. As DRG Concept’s newest restaurant, the design embraces the art deco character and adds a modern twist. Seating includes a main dining area, a sushi bar with built in phone charging stations, and private dining areas.
A wine cellar serves as a private entrance to big group seating. Above, there are slightly fogged skylights through which you can see people walking on the sidewalk. Those will be lit up when it’s dark, as well. Although the restaurant is in the basement, it’s spacious and well-lit, giving it the feeling of some sort of exclusive speakeasy.
Chefs Luigi Iannuario, Richard Triptow, and Austin Carlson are heading the culinary team at Wicked Butcher and all food and beverage service at The Sinclair. The approach to the steakhouse is to celebrate cosmopolitan Texas energy with artful food. There will be domestic and international premium cuts of beef, as well as a Himalayan salt dry aging method.
Chops, poultry, seafood, and a raw bar will accompany the beef selection. Fresh seafood will include hand-rolled sushi, oysters, crab, lobster and swordfish. A few specific dishes are the Double-Rib Steak for Two with sides like Crawfish Maque Choux, Yorkshire creamed spinach, and corn creme brulee. There will also be wine and cocktails created by mixologist Jason Kosmas.
But back to the technology, because this is the really cool part. The whole building is PoE, or Power over Ethernet. This mainly means that the hotel is doing everything that it can possible can to conserve energy. For example, just by working out on the fitness machines in the fitness center, you provide power back to the building. Really.
As for guest rooms, there are also a lot of cutting edge perks to be excited about. Curtains are motorized, lighting can be adjusted based on what kind of mood you’re going for, and Kohler digital showers are controlled by voice activation or a PoE powered Touchscreen display.
LG 8K Wallpaper TVs are in certain rooms and public spaces, and they feature Dolby Atmos sound and more than one billion vibrant colors at 4mm. There are also Bose speakers in the ceilings of rooms so that you can jam out to whatever music you want while getting ready in the morning or winding down for the evening.
The high-tech hotel also includes a podcast booth in the lobby, available for anyone in the community to rent, and an incredible 360 degree rooftop view of downtown Fort Worth. A greenhouse shaped enclosure with a bar can be open or closed with A/C. And there are tons of seating options at every corner of the expansive rooftop.
Location Mentioned: The Sinclair, Autograph Collection Hotel