First look inside the Galaxy Hotel

Fourteen years since he got the greenlight to build the 11-story Galaxy Hotel in St. Petersburg, owner Savani Bakrac is preparing to open its doors. 

The 92-key hotel at 101 3rd Ave. N., which was due to open in 2019, is vertically finished and the interior buildout is nearly complete.

The hotel lobby. 

The Galaxy Hotel, unlike many of the existing hotels sprawling in the city, will not carry a hotel flag when it debuts this year. 

Bakrac purchased the site in 2009 across from what was then known as BayWalk, which was redeveloped into the Sundial shopping complex. 

The hotel’s front desk.

Bakrac, who hired two different general contractors for the project, said initial construction kicked off in 2018, but the team experienced some hiccups as architects redesigned the 28-space parking garage to be on the second level rather than the basement. 

He said the pandemic also curtailed the construction process. Although there isn’t a set opening date for the long-awaited hotel, he plans to open it this summer. 

Streetview of the hotel.

Inside the yellow-and-teal structure, the lobby boasts a soaring ceiling with wraparound windows displaying a panoramic view of downtown. Gold-plated accents and marble finishes are a design aesthetic duplicated throughout the various rooms and meeting areas.  

One of the main restrooms in the Galaxy Hotel.

The lobby will feature a space for a coffee operator. There will also be a 5,000-square-foot space on the ground floor that will house an Italian restaurant. 

Bakrac didn’t disclose details about the food and beverage operators, but shared they are connected to a group he has ties with. 

A ballroom.

The hotel rooms, which range from one-bed units to four penthouse suites, all offer views of downtown St. Pete. The amenities will include a gym, a spa, a 200-person venue space and an expansive balcony for outside dinning. 

One of the standard rooms inside the hotel.  

Although this will be Bakrac’s first hotel development he has built from the ground up, he previously owned the Ponce de León Hotel, the Spanish Mission Revival building built in the 1920s at 95 Central Ave.

Bakrac, who owned the Ponce de León for over 20 years, sold the hotel last year to an entity connected to Sarasota-based hotel development group Kapstones Holding Inc., for $4.5 million.  

In addition to Galaxy Hotel, other hotel developments are also coming online in downtown. The 163-key Moxy by Marriott hotel at 1234-1246 Central Ave. is underway and is expected to open next year. The AC Hotel, which is part of Marriott Bonvoy’s brand portfolio, recently opened its doors at 225 1st Ave. Other hotel projects, such as developer Jon Daou’s Edge Hotel and Kolter’s Hilton hotel, are in the planning stages. 

The wraparound balcony at the hotel.