New 204-Room Hyatt Place Welcomed by Braintree Officials, Veterans

Along with Braintree officials ranging fom the Mayor and President to the Fire Chief, and several local veterans, Tuesday's grand opening ceremony for the new Hyatt Place also featured a long row of other important faces – dozens of former Sheraton employees brought back to work for the new hotel.

"They have been waiting two years to come back," General Manager Steve Buckler said. "They have put in a lot of time at the Sheraton Hotel and they waited patiently to come back to work."

Of 100 Sheraton employees belonging to the Local 26 Unite Here union that lost their jobs when the old hotel closed two years ago, 55 have been re-hired by Hyatt, according to the Patriot Ledger.

The six-story, 204-room hotel was developed by Carpenter and Company, which has completed many high-profile projects in Boston and elsewhere, including the Liberty Hotel. It replaces the previous 374-room, castle-like structure across from the and will be accompanied by a 32,000-square-foot building for retail and restaurants, and another 6,000-square-foot retail building.

Jared the Galleria of Jewelry will be one of the retailers at the hotel complex. Richard Friedman, CEO of Carpenter and Company, said that negotiations are ongoing with additoinal businesses and that by the end of the year the property will be even more transformed than it is with the new hotel in place.

"It's going to be a gateway," Mayor Joseph Sullivan said. "This type of project is an exclamation point to what we're trying to accomplish in Braintree."

Hotel features include free wireless Internet, free parking and shuttle service, a fitness center, a bakery cafe and guest rooms with state-of-the-art media and work centers, and high-definition 42” plasma televisions.

To celebrate the opening, Hyatt Place Braintree will be offering a Braintree First Night promotion from May 15 to May 20, offering guests a one-night stay for $50 (tax not included and requires up front cash/credit card payment). Guests are limited to two one-night stays, and stays are subject to availability through the end of the year.