Bronx’s first boutique hotel opens its doors

The Bronx now has a brand new luxury hotel to call its own, the local blog Welcome2TheBronx reported.

The Opera House Hotel, so named because of its previous incarnation as a stage graced by Houdini and the Marx Brothers, is located at 436 East 149th Street in Melrose. Operated by the Empire Hotel Group, the hotel opened Sunday after roughly four years of work.

On opening day, the property boasted bookings in 16 out of the 60 luxury rooms, despite what is typically an August lull in the industry.

Room rates begin in the $120s and run up to around $180 per night — a relative bargain in New York City.

Developer Jay Domb, of Lucerne and Belvedere boutique hotel fame in Manhattan, purchased the building in 2007 for $2 million. [Welcome2TheBronx] — Julie Strickland