Inside The Nora Hotel, a New Statement in West Palm Beach

The Nora Hotel opens this month at 1135 North Railroad Avenue, anchoring the 40-acre NORA District in West Palm Beach with 201 guest rooms and interiors by New York design studio Gachot. The project marks the first major venture outside New York City for Sean MacPherson and BD Hotels, the team behind Hotel Chelsea, the Bowery, and the Mercer. According to Time Out and Wallpaper, rooms are bookable for October 19, with rates starting at $395 a night.

Gachot’s design looks to Palm Beach’s Spanish Colonial Revival heritage and the early 20th-century Mediterranean style, drawing inspiration from architect Addison Mizner. The interiors combine a palette of pink and green, cypress woodwork, custom furniture, and antiques, aiming to balance the area’s historic grandeur with the moodier sensibility of downtown Manhattan. Christine and John Gachot describe the approach as “the interplay between nostalgic details and more contemporary elements,” with spaces that reveal “unexpected moments and thoughtful details.”

The 201 rooms include ADA-accessible options, one-bedroom suites, and an executive suite, as reported by hotelsmag.com. Fourteen suites have Juliette balconies, and all rooms contain antiques and an art collection assembled by The Madison Melle Agency. The exteriors are bright, while the interiors take on a richer, layered tone.

Dining at The Nora is led by restaurateur Stephen Starr through STARR Restaurants. The ground floor houses Jack’s Bar, which channels mid-century glamour, and Pastis, a Parisian-inspired brasserie serving dishes such as escargots and French onion soup. Pastis is an offshoot of Keith McNally’s original New York restaurant. The lobby bar is designed for cocktails in a setting with ambient lighting and a residential feel.

The rooftop concept, Lillys, is operated in partnership with Mama Hospitality Group. It includes a serviced swimming pool lined with pink lounge chairs and cabanas, a lounge for sunset cocktails, and a restaurant offering dishes like spiny lobster linguine and whole grilled fish. Lillys will also host live music and cultural events spanning food, fashion, art, and more.

The Nora is home to Florida’s first Sisley Spa, a 4,000-square-foot space with four private treatment rooms, a co-ed steam room, a spa lounge, and an outdoor terrace. Treatments use Sisley Paris products and include massages, facials, and body scrubs. The spa is designed to provide a soothing atmosphere, with plant-based skincare at the center of its offerings.

The hotel’s location places it steps from the NORA District’s mix of shops, restaurants, bars, art galleries, and fitness studios. The broader development is a collaboration between NDT Development, Place Projects, Wheelock Street Capital, and BD Hotels, with the first phase including over 150,000 square feet of new and adaptive reuse construction. The magazine has also looked at other new hotel openings in the United States.

The Nora Hotel is a member of Leading Hotels of the World and is the main hotel in the district that shares its name. The project’s architecture was led by Stantec, with the building’s form and details referencing the work of Addison Mizner, who shaped much of Palm Beach’s architectural character in the last century. The development team includes NDT Development, Place Projects, and Wheelock Street Capital, who worked alongside BD Hotels on the larger 40-acre plan. Reports on the building’s size differ, with hotelsmag.com describing it as about 150,000 square feet and Florida YIMBY reporting 215,000 square feet across five stories, including a parking garage.

The Nora’s arrival follows a period of strong tourism growth in the region. The Palm Beaches saw 6.09 million visitors in the first half of 2026, a 6.4% increase from the year before, according to WPTV. Room-night revenue reached $918 million, with hotels averaging 77% occupancy. Tourism in the area is estimated to generate $11.6 billion in annual economic impact and support nearly 95,000 jobs. Canadian visitors to the Palm Beaches increased by almost 2% in the same period, even as Canadian tourism across Florida declined. September was expected to see a 15% rise in lodging demand after gains in July and August, according to the station.