HYDE PARK – A ribbon-cutting Thursday commemorated the opening of the four-month-old Inn at Bellefield Residence Inn by Marriott International, a 137-room all-suite hotel. The hotel is the cornerstone of a $1 billion land development project across Route 9 from the Culinary Institute of America.
The 137-room, $55 million hotel quietly opened for business in January, after being developed by international hotelier, the Shaner Hotel Group LP.
The ribbon-cutting opened the Residence Inn and introduced Phase II of the project, which will transform the wooded land into 2 million square feet of development, according to Thomas Mulroy, Chairman and CEO, T-Rex Capital Group, LLC, the visionary behind Bellefield. Sixty percent of the transformation will consist of 801 residential units while 20 percent will be experience-driven retail space, and the remaining 20 percent is earmarked for hospitality attractions.
A second hotel, a spa, and additional event space for up to 500 people being marketed as a hospitality, agritourism, and residential attraction are included in the plans.
“The opening of the Inn at Bellefield Residence Inn is a signature first milestone for Bellefield, which will advance Hyde Park’s reputation as an extraordinary tourism destination,” said Lance T. Shaner, Chairman and CEO of Shaner Hotel Group, LP. “The Inn at Bellefield’s superb location and amenities are wholly designed to offer guests an exceptional, memorable experience surpassing even stellar expectations. This will not only reflect wonderfully on the community, but on Dutchess County and the Hudson Valley as a whole.”
“The Inn at Bellefield, and Bellefield overall, represent singularly spectacular attractions,” said Manuela Roosevelt, Director of Public Relations for Bellefield and the wife of David Roosevelt, a grandson of President Franklin D.
Roosevelt, who called Hyde Park home. “President Roosevelt had a grand vision for Hyde Park’s future, including that the United Nations be located here. Bellefield is advancing FDR’s inspiring ingenuity in a way that will delight, entertain, educate and exhilarate visitors and residents alike while providing abundant economic advantages for this beautiful community and region.”
The Inn at Bellefield also pays tribute to Hyde Park’s history, featuring original artwork from the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum and the playing of Roosevelt’s fireside-chat recordings alongside outdoor fire pits. In addition, sycamore wood in the hotel is repurposed from a 230-year-old sycamore tree on the property. The Storyteller, a farm-to-table bar/lounge, offers eclectic dining featuring specialty craft beers and spirits. “Its menu, a
homage to the rich tapestry of storytelling, excites the imagination and tantalizes the senses,” according to hotel management. Most ingredients are sourced from local farms, including grass-fed Bettinger Farms beef, Bulich Farm produce, Rockland Farms honey and others. Eleanor’s Market, honoring First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, offers snacks and sundries. The hotel also will curate diverse experiences for guests including mixology classes, cooking classes, and partnering with local attractions to provide wine- and sake-tasting tours, among many others.
Dutchess County Executive Sue Serino, a Hyde Park resident, touted the Bellefield project on Thursday, saying “The opening of the Inn at Bellefield helps lay the strong foundation for what will be a multifaceted hospitality and
tourism destination in the heart of Dutchess County and the Hudson Valley. Bellefield, as it develops, will continue to add to the fabric of our local community and will be an incredible destination for neighbors and tourists alike.”
Melaine Rottkamp, President and CEO of Dutchess Tourism Inc., which plays a vital role in attracting tourism revenue to Dutchess County is excited about having an upscale hotel to draw tourists and their money to the county. “We are so excited to welcome Bellefield at Historic Hyde Park to our already formidable lineup of reasons to visit, live in and love the Hudson Valley. Bellefield will help us draw visitors from across the globe to the numerous high-quality destinations our region offers, building upon the multi-billion dollar economic engine that is tourism in the Hudson Valley. The Inn at Bellefield is a vital, welcomed component of that vision.”
Michael Dupree, who served as the Chairman of the Hyde Park Planning Board when the Bellefield project was just an idea, celebrated the opening on Thursday. Dupree, who recently stepped down from the planning board after years of guiding the development of the town, said “The Hyde Park Planning Board was pleased to consider and approve Bellefield’s visionary project, and we congratulate the Bellefield and Shaner teams for their commitment to Hyde Park’s future. It’s magnificent to see Bellefield’s impressive plans grow into an attractive reality.”
