First Look: St. Louis's Angad Arts Hotel

The Angad Arts Hotel, St. Louis' first boutique luxury property, is slated to open its doors in November 2018 after a $65 million dollar renovation to infuse creative touches to reflect the hotel's bold personality.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the hotel is located in the heart of the Grand Center Arts District and will become the first property in the world allowing guests to select rooms by the emotions of color – green for rejuvenation, yellow for happiness, red for passion, blue for tranquility.

Room colors won't just stay on the walls; whimsical details like rubber ducks in bathtubs will carry the same tones through the room, as will sleek furniture and plush accessories. Developed by St. Louis' Steve Smith and London-based investor Lord Swarj Paul, the Angad Arts Hotel has creativity in its bones.

Built in 1927 as the Missouri Theater, a 3,500-seat cinema, the majestic venue was home to the Missouri Rockets dancers, who later become better known as the Radio City Rockettes. The hotel boasts 146 artfully designed guest rooms, including 38 suites and 25 extended-stay rooms with kitchenettes.

The hotel will carry on its heritage of creativity in surprising new ways that reflect the renewed, eclectic, charge-ahead St. Louis of today. Describing how the hotel will embody this, David Miskit, executive managing director said, "On any given evening, a local dance troupe might create a "Dirty Dancing" performance, unannounced. Or the lobby lights might dim, and a student from the Grand Central Arts Academy across the street might walk in and sing an aria. We want to keep reminding people what a rich trove of talent St. Louis offers, and how much of that talent is concentrated in our backyard."

Miskit looks forward to curating social experiences that are filled with surprise, delight and joy that harken back to his days as night manager of the now fabled Studio 54 nightclub.

Angad's artistic and culinary amenities also include food and beverage offerings by David Burke at the Grand Tavern, staff uniforms created by St. Louis-based fashion designer Reuben Reuel, performance pop-ups and commissioned art videos in the elevators, and a "playroom" featuring a variety of musical instruments on the wall for guests and musicians to play at their leisure.