Marriott to Build New York's Tallest Hotel

AOL Travel: Work is soon set to start on one of New York's largest hotel projects - a 68-storey high rise with more than 600 rooms.

According to Granite Broadway Development and Marriott International, the project has been in the works for nearly a decade, and will include 378-room Courtyard by Marriott hotel and a 261-room Residence Inn by Marriott hotel, and the building combined will be known as the Courtyard and Residence Inn Manhattan/Central Park.

The hotels will sit at the north west corner of Broadway and 54th Street, will be managed by Interstate Hotels and Resorts, and are expected to open in late 2013.

Granite and Marriott say the new development will be the tallest hotel in New York at 753ft, exceeding the Four Season's 52-storey, 682ft high hotel on 57th Street.

The tower will have a main entrance and lobby on West 4th Street; the lobby for the Residence Inn will be on the 3rd floor and the Courtyard reception will be on the 4th floor. Courtyard rooms will be on floors six to 32, while the Residence Inn rooms will be found on floors36 to 64.

The new building will also feature retail shops on the ground floor and a restaurant on the 2nd floor.

Industry experts predict it will do well, despite Manhattan already boasting 544 hotels, including 33 that have opened in the last 12 months.

For more information on the new project, visit nytimes.com