A&P commission gets early look at hotel and its amenities
by July 5, 2012 4:04 pm 140 views
FAYETTEVILLE — The Fayetteville Advertising & Promotion Commission will be among the first to tour The Chancellor Hotel, currently undergoing a $16 million overhaul, just off the Fayetteville Square. Commissioners are invited to walk through the hotel prior to their afternoon meeting Monday (July 9).
The 16-story hotel formerly known as the Cosmopolitan and previously branded as a Radisson and a Hilton, was bought for $3.8 million in December by VCC of Little Rock and Dawn Properties Inc. of Hattiesburg, Miss. The owners hope to have it open Sept. 14, prior to the Arkansas-Alabama game in Fayetteville.
Perhaps the biggest thing the hotel has going for it is that it will be the city’s only full-service hotel, with early and late room service from the lounge/resturant/bar, Union Kitchen and Drinks, run by Theo’s owner Scott Bowman. The crowds he hopes most to capture are those looking for a watering hole after work or for a nightcap.
The marriage between hotel and restaurant was facilitated largely by local real estate broker David Dallas. Bowman owns and operates Theo’s restaurants off Dickson Street in Fayetteville and at the Shoppes at Pinnacle Hills in Rogers, as well as East Side Grill, also in Fayetteville.
The restaurant has been moved from the floor to the first, with a lounge and cozy seating area to greet hotel patrons as they come to check in. The name of the restaurant and lounge is a nod to the Arkansas Union as the university’s gathering place.
“Everything at The Chancellor is in some way tied back to the university,” Bowman said.
Another example: One of the hotel’s 20 luxury suites will be the Old Main Suite.
“We’re paying tribute back to the university which is the lifeblood of this town,” Bowman added.
The bar will have a visually striking but very comfortable modern interior. The owners are taking their cues from Dallas-based Flick-Mars architects, which specializes in hospitality and leisure projects.
The Union will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner plus weekend brunch. And the restaurant will carry out the room service duties for the entire 207-room hotel. The fare will be classic American with some specialties thrown in. How about eight-hour braised barbecue pork shoulder served on cheddar grits?
“We’ll have a lot of classic dishes with slightly updated approach and presentation,” Bowman said.
Even before opening, the hotel is scoring 3 and a half stars out of five on here.