The Hotel at Oberlin recently celebrated its soft opening in Oberlin, Ohio, complete with groundbreaking green innovations. Designed by Chicago-based firm Solomon Cordwell Buenz as one of the most sustainable hotels on the globe, the Hotel at Oberlin is the first in the U.S. to feature solar, geothermal, and radiant heating and cooling.
Developed by SMART Hotels and owned by Oberlin College, the 70-guestroom boutique property bears the distinction of being one of only five U.S. hotels to attain LEED Platinum certification. It will serve as the anchor for the Peter B. Lewis Gateway Center in Oberlin’s Green Arts District, a city development emphasizing environmental consciousness through art and education.
Interior designs showcase dismantled 19th-century wood from a nearby farmhouse and handcrafted wooden furniture from local Amish carpenters. Ohio-born artist Maya Lin, famous for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, will install a permanent three-piece sculpture to grace the lobby and exterior in 2017. The locally inspired artwork will complete the artist’s “Ohio Trilogy.”
Amenities include onsite restaurant 1833, offering locally sourced fare, and 6,500 square feet of meeting and event space. The hotel’s official grand opening will take place in September.
