Artist renderings show the space with black and white marble floors, white walls, and black trim, with potted palm trees offering pops of emerald green. Crystal chandeliers tucked inside oversized golden bells hang from above.

The space – like the entire hotel eventually will be – is filled with clues from the favorite designers of the hotel’s new owners, Mark and Lorenda Wyant of Dallas-based Seawall Hospitality. They adore the style of French designer Philippe Starck, Dutch designer Marcel Wanders and the daring mix of colors and patterns of American Dorothy Draper.

The Wyants rushed to buy what was then the Galvez Hotel, after a deal that Dallas-based SRH Hospitality was working on to buy both the Galvez and the historic Tremont Hotel from Mitchell Historic Properties fell through during the pandemic. SRH went on to buy the Tremont and the Wyants bought the Galvez, closing May 12. Renovations on both properties are expected to be completed in 2022.

“I’ve been to Galveston my whole life,” said Mark Wyant, while Lorenda, from Houston, noted that she had come to Galvez for her prom. “The first hotel I built here was a Holiday Inn Express and the second is right next to us, it’s now a Doubletree. If you grew up in Dallas, you would drive to Galveston on weekends.

What is now the West Loggia will be the hotel bar – bathed in wood, brass and crystal, and evoking a Jay Gatsby and Jazz Age vibe – which is slated to open in mid-December. The hotel’s restaurant will reopen by March 15 next year, followed by its 224 rooms – which will be redone in stages – by June 1.

The Wyants perused the renderings on a recent visit to Galveston, still undecided about some flooring. A foreground had a red carpet in one area, but they decided it was overwhelming and moved on to wood floors. Looking at them again, the wood suddenly seemed dull to Lorenda. After realizing that the wood had already been ordered, Mark had to accept.

The design is still a bit of a work in progress. The bar renderings have a red carpet with giant butterflies scattered throughout the weave. They also cannot make the final cut.

Some things are certain – the new lobby treatment will have a ‘Queen of the Gulf’ tile mosaic in the floor near the check-in desk, designed to look more like a train station kiosk or bank teller’s cage. The current ceiling, with beams and wallpaper, will have a more adult look with gold leaf.

In the East Loggia, a potential future home for High Tea on weekends, the black-and-white flooring will repeat itself and wicker chairs will line the lobby, illuminated by Baccarat crystal chandeliers.

Forks and pink paint

As Mark Wyant opens his iPad to show artist renderings, he shows off a Sherwin-Williams paint mix sticker titled “Texas Light Clay.”

The sticker comes with a story.

Every time Wyant walked past the Galvez with his mother, Jana Wyant, a vocal partner in his business, she wondered aloud why they hadn’t painted him pink. The idea stuck with his son, who rocked several favorite hotels that are pink, including the Royal Hawaiian – where he stayed when he was an American Airlines pilot flying from Dallas to Hawaii – and the Beverly Hills Hotel.

They gathered samples of the pink paint and applied colored stripes to different parts of the building, causing more than a mess along the way. The people of Galveston were outraged that the pride of the island was disfigured.

“It was never a secret that I wanted to paint it pink. Right after closing we were there and painted paint samples on the side of the building. One of them was the hot pink Taco Cabana / Pepto Bismol. It was actually brighter than Pepto, ”said Mark Wyant. “And that’s when the local newspaper decided to take a picture of him. Oh Lord. I could see the Dallas bonfires and pitchforks. They were upset.

He got the message and got serious about finding the right rose.

“Let’s go,” Mark Wyant once said to his wife. They hopped on a plane and flew to Beverly Hills, determined to match the color of this hotel, which opened just a year after the Galvez.

They checked into the hotel and quickly took dozens of paint chips outside, comparing the colors. Approached by hotel management, the Wyants confessed, and their reward was a trip to the maintenance room, where the manager handed them a tin of paint.

“Most people go to Beverly Hills and shop on Rodeo Drive. Lorenda and I went there and spent half a day at Sherwin-Williams, ”he said.

They came home with a mix of matching colors, and the box label is their constant reminder of what the hotel means to Galvestonians.

Remembering your roots

Although the Galvez first opened when the Victorian and Edwardian style dominated, the Wyants are rapidly advancing a decade into the jazz era for decor.

Nonetheless, they want to be loyal to many of the hotel’s origins. The plans therefore include a display case in the lobby that will pay tribute to the history of the hotel and its founders. The hotel has only had a handful of owners over the years, including WL Moody, Dr. Denton Cooley, George P. Mitchell’s group and, now, the Wyants.

They also sent a section of the original stair railing to have molds made and cast a new railing to match what was originally in the hotel. There’s only one small wall down the stairs that still has it, but it’s stuck behind another ADA-compliant brass rail. The newly redesigned rail will be a few inches higher to meet the current code.

When completed, that staircase out of the lobby will be a grander welcome, complete with a red and green carpet – a nod to their love for the Dorothy Draper / Carleton Varney-decorated Greenbrier Hotel in West Virginia – paneled walls and beautiful lighting.

Modern updates are also in store, with tech upgrades that will allow customers to have Alexa running lights, music, and even window treatments.

A white marble fountain is currently under construction in Italy. Eventually, it will be placed at the entrance to the Grand Galvez to welcome visitors with an elegant splash.

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