Hyatt’s Polaris to Start Renovations Soon

September 11,2013

A revolving restaurant atop Atlanta’s second-largest hotel is set to reopen after closing nearly a decade ago.

Renovations to the Polaris, the blue-domed restaurant atop the Hyatt Regency Atlanta, could start this fall.

Check out the video to hear A.J. Robinson, president of Central Atlanta Progress, speak about the impact of the project to downtown.

The Polaris was renowned Atlanta architect John Portman’s first go at a revolving restaurant — and the tallest structure in the city when it opened in 1967. But it served its last meal in 2004.

The goal is to reopen in early or mid-2014, Peter McMahon, the new general manager of the 1,260-room convention hotel on Peachtree Street, said in a late August interview. It likely will drop the Polaris name.

In June 2012, Atlanta Business Chronicle first reported talks were underway to revive the revolving restaurant.

Earlier this year, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts approved a budget for the project.

Atlanta-based The Johnson Studio is designing the space.

“It will probably be a beverage-forward concept with food,” McMahon said in August. “We already have the plans. We are in the process of securing the fixtures and equipment right now.”