If you've always dreamed of having your own huge room filled with toys like in the movie Big with Tom Hanks, you're about to realize that dream.
Graduate Roosevelt Island, which opened on June 1, 2021 on the Cornell Tech Campus on Roosevelt Island, transformed one of its big meeting rooms into "The Loft Suite," a room inspired by Josh Baskin's bachelor pad in Big.
RECOMMENDED: See inside Roosevelt Island's first-ever hotel opening this summer
The room, which accommodates six, has a giant piano you can hop on to play, a Zoltar fortune teller machine that you can ask about your future, a trampoline you can jump on, a pinball machine, a basketball hoop, an inflatable T-rex, bunk beds, a Pepsi Cola vending machine and more retro toys from the movie.
The hotel itself is an academically-inspired 18-story, 224-room hotel with nearly 360-degree sweeping views of the city, its skyline, waterfronts and the East River. Visitors are greeted by a 13-foot-tall sculpture of a boy in aviator goggles holding a lightbulb by artist Hebru Brantley called "Flyboy." He's situated in front of the check-in desk made up of antique wooden drawers and a floor-to-ceiling wall of books. So it's not unfitting for there to be a fun game room upstairs at the "Loft."
"Stories drive the experience at Graduate, and the possibilities at Graduate Roosevelt Island are endless," said Graduate Hotels CEO Ben Weprin. "The BIG-inspired room physically manifests that theory that you can immerse yourself in Josh Baskin's world and just like Roosevelt Island, take a Zoltar journey to another planet.
"The adventure and experience of the room and property itself are unlike anything else in New York, and we are the group just crazy enough to bring it to life. Once people realize how close and easy it is to access Roosevelt Island and see firsthand just how special the location and property are, they are going to lose their minds. That challenge is truly the opportunity, and the inspiration is endless. Go see for yourself, words do it no justice."
So how does one get to "play" in this room? Book the "Be Big Experience" package, in which you can get the following:
- An overnight stay in The Loft Suite
- A Polaroid camera to use during the stay
- A take-home mini Zoltar kit and skee-ball set
- A personal shopping experience with a one-time discount of 15% off purchases at FAO Schwarz, Discovery and Sharper Image products
- and nostalgic treats from the iconic Economy candy store
The Graduate Hotels brand has other themed suites around the country, including a Stranger Things-themed suite in Indiana and a 9-5 suite inspired by Dolly Parton in Nashville.
