Light-filled and sumptuous, the new Hall Park Hotel in Frisco is slated to open to guests this week.
While the 224-room property features nods to the airiness and curated, arty hand of the Hall-named property in downtown Dallas, it is distinctive, with smart nods to its Collin County surroundings.
The ground floor of the hotel could be taken in a circle, its flow a cohesive journey for overnight guests or visitors to future breakfast-lunch-dinner outings.
Upon arrival, bellhops will usher patrons to reception for check-in. There, they’ll be offered a quippy cocktail prepared in front of them: an AperoHALL Spritz. (Front desk staff have the appropriate TABC liquor-pouring credentials so everything is above-board.)
Elevators are to the right of reception, clad in a signature matte gold that asserts itself throughout the building’s common areas and rooms alike.
But veering right from reception is advisable. A lounge area, accented by exaggerated ceiling heights, floor-to-ceiling windows and cozy seating layered in a blend of textures and fabrics, awaits.
Escape for foodies, oenophiles
With food from restaurant Palato Italian Kitchen and Lounge from executive chef Erik Sakai, the lounge is the first taste of what is expected to be a property filled with activations and places to look.
A 1,200-bottle climate-controlled wine closet envelops a corner of the space, climbing from the floor to the ceiling (Yes, there are Hall Wines stocked). A cheesemonger is expected to wheel through diners and drinkers in the lounge, sporadically offering wares and expertise. Windows open along the back of the bar will enable easy service for to-go cocktails. Grab-and-go pastries and Lavazza coffee will be an option here in the mornings. People-watching within the property or outside in the newly opened Kaleidoscope Park is an ample and free amenity in the airy space.
If you continue to weave through seating areas, you’ll eventually find restaurant Palato. Its exhibition-style kitchen will offer scenes of the property’s pastry chef, Sophie Candia, at work — she’ll be leading house-made pasta production depending on the time of day. The restaurant will be open to the public for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It will open with the hotel and begin to take reservations on Nov. 1.
Features of the restaurant include a stone hearth for pizza, a rotisserie and three on-staff sommeliers.
Cooking classes, including pasta-making, will eventually be offered in a private dining room. The restaurant will lean into the holidays, with plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings. One idea being floated is the concept of Bloody Marys with Santa.
Frisco acknowledgements can be found in the art, including flora with ties to the area in images, like bluebonnets and red magnolia seeds sprouting. Local artists also contributed. Such a touch can be found in the wavy, woven ceiling fixtures of blues and greens in the property’s largest ballroom and meeting space from Dallas glass artist Carlyn Ray.
Stay awhile, or not
Rooms are divided into pick-your-own-adventure types.
The property’s Reserve Suites are for long-term stays, spanning four private floors. They include kitchenettes of varying sizes with sleek stovetops and mini dishwashers depending on room choice and all overlook Kaleidoscope Park. Ample Presidential Suites can flex between two bedrooms and three.
Only four suites do not feature balconies.
Water closets and walk-in showers are a constant throughout all accommodations.
The slight difference between the Reserve Suites and standard rooms comes in a tweaked color palette, highlighted by a shift from deep greens to soft orange and mauve, and the absence of kitchenettes.
The amenity level is on the seventh floor. There, conference and meeting spaces can be found and adjoin to a new office building. The spacious gym, with ample machines, is shared with the office building. The pool, which also holds a bar that will serve handheld bites, departing from Palato’s fare, is situated on a corner and near a lawn that could host a wealth of events.
It’s also dog-friendly.
Hall Park’s transformation
Hall Park from Dallas developer and businessman Craig Hall first opened in Frisco in the mid-90s. It was an early office district in the market, growing to 2.2 million square feet of office and retail space across its 162 acres. Other developments sprung up around it in the following decades. In recent years, that includes The Star in Frisco, with Dallas Cowboys’ headquarters, an Omni hotel, office space and retail galore.
In a much-changed Frisco, Hall Park’s staying power combined with a prime location along Warren Parkway near the Dallas North Tollway gave rise to an ambitious master plan initially quoted to the tune of $7 billion at completion.
Construction commenced on the initial projects set to help propel the former office park into a mixed-use community in 2021.
Many office redevelopments in recent years have included new and existing ownership splashing capital-intensive upgrades into lobbies and amenity spaces and the additions of coffee kiosks or bodega-like cafes. Perhaps an office-to-residential conversion.
This is not that.
The first phase of Hall Park 2.0 included the construction of a ground-up hotel, office tower and a luxe residential building with penthouses priced at $21,000 a month. All of the additions are anchored by Kaleidoscope Park.
This is the second Hall-branded hotel, with the first situated in the Dallas Arts District. Hall Arts Hotel similarly is built near a Hall-developed office property and residences.
The hotel flags for the two properties are different, with the new property being part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection. The downtown Dallas hotel sits within the Hilton Curio Collection portfolio.
Hall Park Hotel is located at 3220 Internet Boulevard, Frisco. Rooms start at $400 a night. hallparkhotel.com.
