Alpharetta, Georgia’s first luxury hotel and conference center debut at Avalon
Pack your bags and get ready to check in to Alpharetta’s first luxury hotel and large event destination. The Hotel at Avalon and Alpharetta Conference Center will officially open on Jan. 16 at Avalon, completing the mixed-use community’s final phase and marking the culmination of one of the most successful mixed-use projects in the country.
“As the anchor of North Fulton County, Alpharetta has long needed a luxurious full service hotel and meeting facility to supplement the large supply of existing hotels. The combination of the spectacular Avalon destination and the City of Alpharetta’s determination to create a conference center to support the rapidly growing business and technology companies, offered an extremely unique hotel development opportunity,” said Jim Stormont, president of Stormont Hospitality Group, managing partner. “The Hotel at Avalon exists because of the magical Avalon community, which created a unique and experiential destination unto itself. I venture to say there is no better meeting destination in the Southeast than the new Hotel at Avalon and Alpharetta Conference Center, located at the pinnacle of Avalon Boulevard.”
The Hotel at Avalon will join a distinguished portfolio of more than 130 independent Autograph Collection hotels. Intimate, stylish and inspired by a gracious Southern home, The Hotel at Avalon and Alpharetta Conference Center will fill an important niche in the affluent submarket known as the Technology City of the South. The 330-key hotel and 65,000-square-foot event venue has already booked 135 events and 15,000 group room nights, due to exceptionally strong demand from corporate groups and associations, as well as weddings, bar mitzvahs and other social events.
The hotel will celebrate its grand opening with “A Gala Exactly Like Nothing Else” on Saturday, Jan. 20, benefitting North Fulton Community Charities. The exclusive black tie grand opening will feature dinner and libations, music and dancing and a silent auction. Guests can purchase tickets to the Gala by visiting Avalon’s website here.
“At The Hotel at Avalon, we brought to life the luxury of staying overnight at Avalon and reveling in the community’s extraordinary, hospitality-infused experiences,” said Mark Toro, managing partner at North American Properties (NAP), co-developer of The Hotel at Avalon. “In everything we do, from design to merchandising to programming, our strategy is focused on creating communal experiences that resonate at an emotional level with our guests, whether they’re shopping for a few hours, celebrating a special occasion, visiting for a couple nights or living full-time at Avalon. It starts and ends with creating community.”
The $112 million project is the result of a public-private partnership between Stormont Hospitality Group, Long Wharf Capital, NAP and the City of Alpharetta, with additional assistance from the Development Authority of Fulton County and the Alpharetta Convention & Visitors Bureau.
“We are truly excited to be part of the team bringing the Alpharetta Conference Center as an important amenity for the Technology City of the South,” said Alpharetta Mayor David Belle Isle. “Together with The Hotel at Avalon, this offering catapults Alpharetta to the highest level in terms of our ability to serve our corporate citizens while also providing an exciting new venue for the special moments in the lives of our residents.”
Rising to overlook Avalon, the hotel and conference center will continue the mixed-use community’s reputation as The Living Room of Alpharetta, with a relaxed social gathering hub and a sleek bar spilling into the lobby. The hotel’s food and beverage options, South City Kitchen Avalon from Fifth Group restaurants and Starbucks coffee, will also open this month at Avalon’s street level, adding exceptional on-site dining options to Avalon’s culinary mecca.
“The Hotel at Avalon will blur the line between business and pleasure,” said Thomas Lind, general manager of the hotel. “Every detail is crafted to ensure a seamless experience that feels warm, welcoming and intimate yet modern and tech-forward, in keeping with the experience NAP’s ExperienceMakersä have successfully established at Avalon. The vibrant mixed-use community is the hotel and conference center’s landmark amenity, offering guests countless opportunities to explore best-in-class shopping, chef-driven dining and endless entertainment, with the hotel as their luxurious home base.”
The Hotel at Avalon and Alpharetta Conference Center offer 44,000-square-feet of adaptable event space, including a second-story pool terrace overlooking Avalon Boulevard that seamlessly transforms from day to night for outdoor events and banquet functions, two stunning ballrooms, an executive board room and a host of intimate venues for smaller meetings.
Additional amenities include a 24-hour fitness center, complimentary high-speed wireless internet through Avalon’s Gigabit connectivity, access to Club Avalon Concierge, and, of course, the top amenity is Avalon itself – its dynamic variety of shops, dining and entertainment right outside the door, including the soon-to-open The Woodhouse Day Spa which will partner with the hotel on luxurious spa packages.
As part of the opening, The Hotel at Avalon awarded a local couple an all-expenses paid dream wedding at the hotel. “Avalon Says I Do” kicked off this summer, encouraging engaged couples to submit a video telling their love story and why they deserve a $350,000 fairytale wedding at Avalon. Over 40 couples entered, and Avalon’s social media followers voted on the videos and North Fulton’s own Nicole Garsh, a breast cancer nurse at Northside Hospital, and her fiancé Spencer Franks emerged as the winning twosome. They are currently working with renowned wedding planner Suzanne Reinhard, celebrity event designer Brian Worley of Bold Catering & Design and a host of incredible Atlanta vendors to bring their vision to life this spring.
“From the moment we walked through the doors to tour The Hotel at Avalon for our wedding, we knew it was a special place,” said Garsh. “We were actually considering it for our venue already, and when the team told us about the ‘Avalon Says I Do’ contest, we rallied our wonderful friends and family to help us win. It’s a huge relief to have all the planning taken care of and Suzanne and Brian have been so in tune with our needs and our style as a couple. We can’t wait for our loved ones to join us at Avalon this spring for our big day!”
Cooper Carry led the design of the hotel, while Perkins + Will designed the hotel and conference center interiors, The Johnson Studio at Cooper Carry designed South City Kitchen Avalon, and general contractor Brasfield & Gorrie led the construction of the project. From the artfully appointed lobby to the stylish upscale suites, The Hotel at Avalon’s interiors reflect its dedication to Southern hospitality, taking cues from a tranquil color palette of grays, creams and buttery yellow and incorporating unique, curated art that differs from room to room. The Avalon Suite, the hotel’s version of a presidential suite, will be located on the second floor rather than the top to allow for a front row seat to all the action on Avalon Boulevard.
The Hotel at Avalon is positioned at the end of Avalon Boulevard in the Boulevard East district, which opened in Spring 2017. For more information, visit www.thehotelatavalon.com and www.experienceavalon.com.
About The Hotel at Avalon
The Hotel at Avalon is a luxury 330-key Autograph Collection hotel anchoring Avalon, the experiential 86-acre mixed-use community in the affluent North Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta, Georgia. Bringing the Autograph Collection brand’s values of vision, design and craft to life, The Hotel at Avalon joins a distinguished portfolio of more than 130 Autograph Collection hotels around the world that are exactly like nothing else. Here, graceful, modern Southern hospitality is infused throughout a walkable community of shopping, dining, lodging, working, and entertaining, all in the heart of Alpharetta. Flowing from the hotel, the new Alpharetta Conference Center provides the area’s premier meetings and events destination. For more information, visit www.thehotelatavalon.com
About Avalon
Avalon is a new experience in the timeless art of living well. In the heart of Alpharetta, this sustainably designed, 86-acre development with more than 500,000 square feet of retail, a 12-screen all premium theater, planned conference center and full-service hotel, Class A office, single-family residences and luxury rental homes infuses resort-level hospitality throughout a walkable, seamlessly connected community of shopping, dining, entertainment, living and working. It’s more than just another place to go, it’s a place to be — a hub of local art and activity that delivers the luxury of the modern South. At 2.4 million square feet and more than $1 billion, Avalon is one of the largest projects currently underway in the United States. You can find more updates on Avalon at its website, Facebook page, Instagram or Twitter profile.
About Stormont Hospitality
Stormont Hospitality Group is a full-service, turnkey developer of luxury and first-class hotels, conference centers and resort properties. Stormont Hospitality Group and its principals, based in Atlanta, have developed more than $2 billion in prominent hotel properties, including some of the most successful public/private hospitality projects in the U.S. For more information visit: www.
About North American Properties
Founded in 1954, North American Properties is a privately held, multi-regional real estate operating company that has acquired, developed and managed more than $5 billion of mixed-use, retail, multifamily and office properties across the United States. Headquartered in Cincinnati, with offices in Atlanta, Dallas and Fort Myers, Florida, the company has developed 19 million square feet of retail and 17,000 apartment units in 12 states. In the past three years, North American Properties has launched 36 projects totaling $1.1 billion in total capitalization. In Atlanta, North American Properties owns Avalon, Colony Square and Anthem on Ashley. For more information, please visit www.naproperties.com.
About Autograph Collection Hotels
Autograph Collection Hotels celebrates individuality by curating one-of-a-kind travel experiences at more than 100 luxury lifestyle hotels found in the world’s most desirable destinations. Exactly like nothing else, Autograph Collection properties are hand selected for their rich character and uncommon details. A personal realization of an individual founder’s vision, these hotels are defined by unique design, differentiated guest experiences and their meaningful role in locality. For more information, please visit www.autographhotels.com, and explore our social media channels on Instagram Twitter and Fac
ABOUT Cooper Carry
Cooper Carry provides architecture, planning, landscape architecture, interior design, environmental graphic design and sustainability consulting services. Founded in 1960, the firm specializes in the design of corporate, education, government, hospitality, mixed-use, office, residential, restaurants, retail, science + technology, and transit projects. The firm has designed projects in 45 states and globally in the Caribbean, Middle East, Asia, Africa and Central America. Engaging a fundamental design philosophy centered on the concept that environments should connect people to people and people to place, the firm promotes the philosophy of “connective architecture.” Designers understand the local market and the specific cultural and physical contexts in which the building will serve those who interact with it while conceiving memorable spaces, inside and out. Listening to the client and gaining a deep understanding of the market and site prior to commencing design, Cooper Carrybalances passionate creativity with client service.
About The Johnson Studio at Cooper Carry
For over 25 years, The Johnson Studio has designed award-winning, unforgettable restaurants and hotels for the most innovative leaders in hospitality. The tightly knit group of designers and architects provides design consultation, concept development, interior design, lighting design, architectural design and furniture purchasing. In 2016, the studio joined forces with Cooper Carry, one of the nation’s most respected hotel designers, expanding their capabilities and allowing the team to deliver a comprehensive design service for the hospitality industry, from the first feasibility study to opening day. For more information on The Johnson Studio at Cooper Carry’s past and current projects, visit http://www.
About Perkins+Will
Perkins+Will is an interdisciplinary, research-based architecture and design firm established in 1935. Founded on the belief that design has the power to transform lives and enhance communities, we collaborate with clients all over the world to create healthy, sustainable places in which to live, learn, work, play, and heal. More than 2,000 professionals across over 20 Perkins+Will offices include some of the brightest minds in architecture, interior design, branded environments, urban design, and landscape architecture. Clients consistently turn to us for our leadership and expertise in areas like sustainability, resilience, health and wellness, and mobility. Additionally, our 10 Research Labs catalyze innovative design technologies and solutions that result in better, smarter, more competitive built environments. The recipient of hundreds of design awards each year, and a progressive leader in corporate social responsibility, Perkins+Will is consistently ranked among the world’s top design firms. Our family of partner companies includes retail strategy and design consultancy Portland; sustainable transportation planning consultancy Nelson\Nygaard; healthcare technology planning firm Genesis; and luxury hospitality design firm Pierre-Yves Rochon (PYR). For more information, visit www.perkinswill.com.
