For Rockbridge’s management arm Makeready, guest experience is everything. The company provides craftsmanship-first solutions that fully embrace locality while honoring the past and present. Here, Christine Magrann discusses the power of thoughtful collaboration and the brand’s latest projects.
How do you find collaborators?
We look for people who are like-minded, have a hospitality point of view, and are making product because they want to tell a story. They’re all sort of interwoven in this special creative class. We found a local artist [Paige Russell of ELOI studio] for the Alida in Savannah. She plays music and splashes paint in this amazing, creative way. Conversations with her led us to a photographer, so once we find that right person, they end up leading us to other people. From a food and beverage perspective, I generally hire people that one of us has a connection with [because it’s a more relationship-forward industry].
What is the scope of the renovation of your yet-to-be-revealed Charleston hotel?
All the 212 rooms are undergoing a complete renovation with Rockbridge, but we’re putting in a restaurant, retail, and an amazing coffee shop that’s going to be in the front of the hotel. As you enter, you will feel a sense of warmth and hospitality. There’s a charm to this design. The Noelle [our hotel in Nashville] has a feminine side, while this project has a little more southern charm, mirrored with some modern elements. We’re layering in the design with the courtyard, which is completely underutilized right now, so we’ll have dining and events out there. It’s going
to be lovely.
What other projects do you have in the works?
We just took over the Halcyon Hotel Cherry Creek in Denver, which we transitioned from Sage [Hospitality]. We’re in the middle of concepting a new restaurant there with a beautiful rooftop, and we are layering in more design elements to take advantage of that.
