I was so excited for our stop in Asheville, North Carolina. My little sister lives not so far away, so we took this opportunity to drink a few St. Patrick’s Day beers. We only celebrate it together every ten years. The world, and our livers, cannot take it more frequently.
Haywood Park Hotel and Atrium is a Historic Hotel of America and located smack dab in the middle of Asheville. I could not have asked for a better hotel location. I loved that it was so walkable. {Pro tip: Spring for the valet parking and forgo the stress that happens when circling the block looking for a parking spot.}
As I mentioned, the Haywood Park Hotel is a Historic Hotel of America. Nobody loves an adaptive reuse project as much as I do – again, the greenest building is the one that is already built – and the Haywood Park Hotel absolutely delivers on that front. Can you guess what the building’s previous use was?
It was a department store! It went through two iterations as two brands: Bon Marche’ and Ivey’s. It was the former from 1923 through 1937 and the latter from 1937 through 1975. I love that the history of the building was interpreted throughout the hotel; it was like the architect’s way of paying homage to the original use. For example, the store department directory was installed in the elevator.
Bridal salon? Floor two
Men’s underpants? Floor three.
Upon exiting the elevator on any given guestroom floor, a lobby opens up to a sitting area and a display of mannequins dressed in vintage garb. The mannequins types are displayed in accordance with what department was sold on any given floor.
The adaptive reuse design was planned around the structural columns, circa 1923, which makes for a very interesting hotel layout. The hotel was designed and built out from 1985 to 1987. While many of the hotel rooms are original to the 1980s design, there is an updated wing, in which we stayed. The design of our suite was clean and modern and roomy, without feeling cold. The suite was nearly larger than our apartment in Philadelphia.
Frankly, we would have moved in.
Sincerest thanks to Haywood Park Hotel and Atrium for sponsoring our stay.