September 3, 2019 – NASHVILLE – Nashville’s uncommonly delightful destination for style, comfort, convenience, and warm Southern hospitality has a brand-new look. The first phase of Hotel Preston’s $4.75 million renovations debuted last fall with new guestrooms, a refreshed check-in desk, and upgraded outdoor spaces. The second phase has wrapped with the opening of Blackwood, a brand-new restaurant and bar, the reimagining of the hotel’s lobby and public areas, bright and airy upgrades to the ballroom and new cabanas in the pool area. Now, more than ever, Hotel Preston is the ideal home base for working, socializing and tapping into the laid-back, lyrical soul of Music City.
Designed with the needs and desires of today’s travelers in mind, Hotel Preston has been transformed by Provenance Hotels’ director of design, Ashley Stempler, and the team at Nashville’s Anderson Design Studio with an eye toward creating a sense of community, openness and connecting. The second half of the renovation connects the lobby to the new restaurant and bar, more than doubling the amount of seating options in both areas, and introduced a wide variety of furniture configurations, rich, jewel-toned pops of color and exciting new art works chosen to enhance the hotel’s existing collection.
The changes begin inside the front door with a new seating area facing the check-in desk in the center of the reception area. Two low-slung leather and wood chairs evoke mid-century vibes nestled across from a peridot-hued quilted leather settee, creating an idyllic spot for conversation beneath large format historic photos by Ed Clarke of Grand Ole Opry star Minnie Pearl and the Ryman Auditorium. Moving deeper into the lobby, guests find more opportunities for interaction and connection. A rustic table atop a sapphire Turkish-inspired rug in the main seating area accommodates up to eight for an impromptu meeting or quick pre-flight work session. Next to this, a soft linen sectional pairs with supple leather chairs envelop a driftwood coffee table – all in neutral hues to let the colors in the vibrant saturated series of lenticular works by Chris Dean mounted on the walls above really pop.
The open feeling flows right into Blackwood, Hotel Preston’s new restaurant and bar. The heart of the hotel was reconfigured, and walls torn down, to connect the lobby to this new eatery. Anchored with a 42-foot-long bar backed by emerald tile and open shelving in dark wood, the space is hopping from day to night with amped up comfort food favorites served all day, every day. Blackwood guests can order locally roasted Bongo Java coffee and pastries at the bar in the mornings or a light lunch and a local craft beer for lunch. Bar seating and café tables, a tall communal table and variety of lounge seating options beckon travelers to stop and sit a spell or turn their attention toward the stage at the opposite end of the room. Here, local musicians perform three nights a week against a backdrop of dramatic new tile and woodgrain floors, walls painted in geometric hues and art including the series Legends by John Langford. Below the rosy neon glow of a sign reading ‘order at the bar,’ guests can order up a cocktail, stay for dinner and wind down the night with Tennessee whiskey flights. And, on weekends, they can dine on delectable brunch favorites.
Hotel Preston’s 4,400 sq. ft. Gather ballroom on the main level now has new carpet, light fixtures and bright contemporary wall coverings that flow through into the adjacent 2,000 sq. ft. of breakout space. Anchored by wood flooring, the rooms boast velvet chairs in a deep turquoise color and a series of bright, saturated prints by Sean Stucky among other works of art. With the three meeting rooms on the lower level that were renovated last year, Hotel Preston now boasts almost 7,900 total sq. ft. of modernized meeting space all featuring catering from Blackwood’s delectable and playful new menu.
Outside, the sun-drenched pool area has leveled up with five spacious cabanas featuring comfy outdoor furniture and geometric print rugs and pillows in shades of ivory and azure. The pool is located adjacent to the Backyard, an expansive grassy area that features yard games like corn hole, horseshoes and ladder toss along with a volleyball net, table tennis and giant Jenga that debuted last summer. Not far away, rounding out the outdoor offerings, is Fetch, Hotel Preston’s private, on-property dog park with1,250 sq. ft. of fenced play area for furry friends that also debuted last summer.
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About Provenance Hotels
Headquartered in Portland, Ore., Provenance Hotels specializes in independent hotels with intentional, deeply integrated art stories. Imbued with the soul of the cities in which they thrive, these Conde Nast Reader’s Choice Award-winning hotels showcase trend-setting amenities, creative collaborations with local co-conspirators and innovative food & beverage. The portfolio includes properties in Portland, Seattle, Tacoma, Wash., Palm Springs, Calif., New Orleans, Nashville, Boston and Stillwater, MN. Projects are also in the works in Hermosa Beach, Calif., Fort Wayne, Ind., Milwaukee and Madison, Wisc. The company can be found online at www.provenancehotels.com.