The vintage Fox Jewelers sign glows behind the bar, welcoming guests to Grand Rapids' only boutique hotel. It's a hip Euro-style oasis in what was once a dilapidated downtown storefront: the former Fox Jewelers building.
CityFlats Hotel welcomed its first diners to its bistro, bar and coffee shop last week and plans to have guest rooms sleep-ready by August 1.
The $3M CityFlats Hotel (83 Monroe Center NW) features 28 urban-style guest rooms, each different from the others in color and layout and all designed by the furniture design team of
Charter House Innovations, the company behind both the Holland and Grand Rapids hotels.
The hotel's CitySen Lounge and CityBrü coffee shop, which is open 24/7, opened to lunch and dinner guests as soon as the liquor license came through, says hotel spokesperson Sarah Lilly.
"We always knew we wanted to be a hotel franchise with multiple locations and there was no boutique hotel in Grand Rapids," Lilly says. "The space presented itself to be right in the heart of the city, so guests can come here and walk to their business meetings, to restaurants and shopping."
Lilly expects the hotel to attain LEED-Gold certification, citing several green building features, such as, cork flooring in the guest rooms, the reuse of wood reclaimed from the building and energy efficient lighting, HVAC and water systems.
Reconstruction plans included restoring the historic terra cotta façade, which Lilly says is one of a few still surviving in Grand Rapids, and replacing the inset vestibule entryway with a contemporary revolving door. The bistro's front windows slide open to allow fresh air inside and to connect the interior eating area with the sidewalk patio.
The hotel brings 20 new full- and part-time jobs to the city's central business district.
Construction manager:
GDK ConstructionArchitect:
GMB Architecture + EngineeringSource: Sarah Lilly, CityFlats Hotel
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor
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