Mandarin Oriental | 776 Boylston St | Back Bay

Re: Mandarin Oriental

Streetfront presence isn't too bad nor good, but it will do better with some retail tenants. Of course hotels themselves generate enough foot traffic, so this is definately an improvement over the old Duck waiting area.
 
Re: Mandarin Oriental

BarbaricManchurian said:
Streetfront presence isn't too bad nor good, but it will do better with some retail tenants. Of course hotels themselves generate enough foot traffic, so this is definately an improvement over the old Duck waiting area.
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I'm not really thrilled with it, but maybe the planters will help. It's just really hard to get a LOOK at the building. It's like this giant mass that fills your field of vision but that you can't really wrap your head around: like going to the IMAX movie and sitting too close.
 
Re: Mandarin Oriental

Cripes, it's enough already though. Just open it ... FFE is taking fordamnever.
 
Re: Mandarin Oriental

bbfen said:
Cripes, it's enough already thuugh. Just open it ... FFE is taking fordamnever.
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Where are all the retail tenants? I see a fancy bedding shop (whooopee) a bank, and L'Es & SDLT. Nothing else. Not that I'll be able to afford to shop at any of these stores, but I'm excited for the street presence.

Now that Fette is going in and Sleepy's is open across the street, has this become Boston's bedding district?
 
Re: Mandarin Oriental

Newbury Arcade to open Sept. 4
Retail space to link Pru, Lord & Taylor
By Donna Goodison
Friday, August 15, 2008

A new enclosed retail arcade connecting Lord & Taylor?s Boston store to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and Shops at the Prudential Center will open Sept. 4.

Crossing over Ring Road, the Newbury Arcade will allow shoppers to walk from Neiman Marcus at Copley Place to the Prudential and back down Boylston Street to Lord & Taylor without going outside.

The 572-foot arcade, part of which spans Ring Road, will include several retail stores and restaurants that will open this fall, including a 2,000-square-foot Lululemon Athletica, a Canadian retailer of yoga-inspired athletic clothing. Other tenants will include the previously announced high-end Mizu salon by Elan Sassoon, the son of legendary hair stylist Vidal Sassoon; chef Frank McClelland?s relocated L?Espalier restaurant; and a second Boston location of its sister restaurant, Sel de la Terre.

Owner Boston Properties also will welcome two other retailers to the Shops at the Prudential, including the ninth location of preppy clothier Vineyard Vines. The Stamford, Conn., company is known for its ties emblazoned with everything from martini glasses to marlins and its trademark whale polos. Greenwich brothers Shep and Ian Murray started Vineyard Vines in 1998, selling ties out of their backpacks and Jeep on Martha?s Vineyard.

The 3,500-square-foot store will open Nov. 15 in the former Talbots Men?s space.

?We love working with New England retailers and people who have their roots here, because a good portion of our customers are tourists, and they love New England experiences,? said Bryan Koop, Boston Properties? senior vice president and regional manager. ?It?s also indicative of the strength of Back Bay retail that no sooner did that space become available that it was snatched up.?

Isis Maternity also will open a 5,000-square-foot store in October next to P.F. Chang?s China Bistro. The company, which has locations in Arlington, Brookline and Needham, caters to expecting and new moms. In addition to selling products ranging from birthing/fitness balls to strollers, Isis offers educational classes on such topics as childbirth, parenting and music/movement for babies.


Link
 
Re: Mandarin Oriental

So 'arcade' is the new ten cent word for a sky-bridge? Can't they just redevelop the L&T into something better?
 
Re: Mandarin Oriental

Yes, they could. It should become a bigger and better L & T!!!
 
Re: Mandarin Oriental

Chris said:
So 'arcade' is the new ten cent word for a sky-bridge? Can't they just redevelop the L&T into something better?
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They've always been called arcades -- Boylston arcade, etc. -- after the classic use of the word (an arch-covered passage with shops or stalls on each side). There's more than just a sky-bridge on the Newbury Arcade.

What's wrong with L&T?
 
Re: Mandarin Oriental

bbfen said:
They've always been called arcades -- Boylston arcade, etc. -- after the classic use of the word (an arch-covered passage with shops or stalls on each side). There's more than just a sky-bridge on the Newbury Arcade.

What's wrong with L&T?
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I like Lord and Taylor. Compared to Sak's and Neiman's and Barney's and the other ridonculous department stores in the Back Bay, you can actually find great deals there. I got a Ralph Lauren suit for $120.
 
Re: Mandarin Oriental

The new Saks facade is coming along...

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Re: Mandarin Oriental

I hate the bevel on the Saks sign. It should have repeated that nice extended frame on the facade. Oh well, that's not an architecture matter.
 
Re: Mandarin Oriental

Looks like a 70s airport terminal, that said, it does look better than its surroundings, at least somewhat.
 
Re: Mandarin Oriental

I'll walk by on the way home from the game (which I should have left for an hour ago, woops), but I think the black is just temporary/during construction.

Though the pics he/she posted are good, it looks better in person.

EDIT: I mis-remembered. It looks ugh in person.
 
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Re: Mandarin Oriental

Wow, that is realy awful. Would anyone in their right mind get the impression that they are entering a high-end elite retailer rather than, say, a DMV?
 
Re: Mandarin Oriental

Ya, never mind. The black is a mistake.
 
Re: Mandarin Oriental

it looked vastly more interesting and upscale before.
 
Re: Mandarin Oriental

I'm surprised we haven't had any comments comparing the way the new facade looks to male genitalia yet. I'll refrain. It doesn't look good though.
 
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