Renovated St. Nicholas Hotel gearing up for official grand opening

ALBANY  – The old is new again on North Washington Street, where the St. Nicholas Hotel has re-opened for its original purpose with a historical look outside, bare brick walls in the downstairs interior, painstaking restoration of flooring and a stamped tin ceiling.

Since the quiet re-opening on March 13, the hotel, which was originally opened in 1908, has hosted the largest-ever gathering for the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual dinner, when more than 500 gathered on the street in front of the hotel. 

A grand opening ceremony is yet to be scheduled, but Matt Fuller, one of the partners in the hotel project, said he is hoping to get the word out that the hotel is ready for business.

“We’ve had some events here,” he said. “We’re really excited, and everything so far has gone really well. We look forward to the community’s continued support.”

The restoration was a labor of love for Fuller, who said he has long had a passion for old buildings. The thought of the historic building falling further into disrepair and becoming so dilapidated it would have to be torn down was part of what spurred him to take on the project.

The investment group involved in the project also acquired nearly the entire block across the street from the 304 N. Washington St. hotel, a portion of which will be an eight-room expansion for the hotel. 

The 1906 restaurant is also open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as Saturday and Sunday brunch, and seats 64.

“We’ve had people do ‘staycations,'” Fuller said. “We’re getting the word out to the business travelers. Having a nice restaurant connected to the hotel is nice.”

Also on the first floor, guests will find Harry’s, the bar named for big-band leader Harry James.  James, who is recognized as one of the greats of the Big-Band Era, was born at the hotel, and his parents were among the circus performers who frequented the hotel when they were in Albany.

Record covers of some of James’ albums adorn the newly refurbished hotel’s walls, including collaborations with Frank Sinatra, whose career James launched by signing the young singer to a contract in the 1930s.

The bar seats 40 and is located between the restaurant and the hotel’s library, which features a fireplace and bookshelves made with reclaimed pecky cypress from the Radium Springs Casino that was demolished following two floods and a fire at the building.

The top two floors of the facility will each have 13 rooms, one of which is a large suite. The rooms will have one bed and one bathroom, and there will be two beds and two bathrooms in the suites.

The original configuration was 26 rooms on each floor. Pricing for the rooms will start at $169 per night.. 

The hotel employs about 65.

“Right out of the gate, it was a little slow,” Fuller said of the Friday the 13th opening. “It seems every week we’re picking up. It’s a matter of people finding out about us.”