While major urban hubs in the U.S. like New York, Miami, and Los Angeles naturally get the lion’s share of attention, secondary cities have their own growing appeal. Take Austin, which continues to be the city of the moment. Big brands and developers have staked a claim in recent years, but the originator of Austin cool, Bunkhouse Group, endures with laidback properties that cement the Texas capital as a must-visit destination. On its heels are coastal settings like Charleston, South Carolina and Newport, Rhode Island. Each exudes an effortless charm that attracts hoteliers and designers alike. In these cities that are ripe for development, three inviting properties embrace both the community and their own rich history.
Hotel Magdalena
Austin, Texas
Bunkhouse Group continues to expand in its hometown with the October 2020 opening of Hotel Magdalena. The company’s fourth hotel in Austin, and its first new build there, is an ode to the area’s lake culture with a central pool—or “our own little private swimming hole,” as Bunkhouse Group vice president of design and development Tenaya Hills puts it—anchoring the property. The surrounding four-building complex is designed by local architecture firm Lake|Flato, a longtime collaborator. Inspired by the look and feel of the city’s 1950s lake houses, it is the first boutique hotel in North America to use mass timber construction. “By exposing the wood structure to the hotel guests, the materials help tell the story of how the hotel was built, while also providing a warmer, more textured material in the guestrooms and common outdoor porches,” explains Lake|Flato project architect Michael Britt.
Creating a natural flow between the indoor and outdoor spaces was top of mind for the team, which enlisted Austin practice Ten Eyck Landscape Architects to help make them “feel like an escape to nature in the middle of a city,” Hills says. In that same vein, the residentially inspired interiors boast a natural material palette of wood and terrazzo paired with midcentury-style furniture, while black and white archival photography by Scott Newton, who chronicled the city’s music scene in the 1970s, “sets the tone and gives energy to the 89 guestrooms,” she adds.
The property is also home to Summer House on Music Lane, a full-service restaurant characterized by simple materials, bright green accents, and floor-to-ceiling windows that showcase a grand live oak tree, making patrons feel like they’re in a treehouse.
“Hotel Magdalena is a sister to the other Bunkhouse properties,” Hills adds, referring to the Hotel Cecilia next door, the iconic Austin Motel, and the Hotel San José, “but with an entirely distinct personality.”
Hammetts Hotel
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport’s dual personalities as both a tony nautical hamlet and a working class industrial town come together in Main Street Hospitality Group’s Hammetts Hotel on Newport Harbor. “The philosophical grounding for the project was to present something in Newport that honored the working history and the working waterfront,” says Main Street Hospitality CEO Sarah Eustis. “It’s like being on a ship. Everything has a lovely detailed purpose.”
For the interiors, Warwick, Rhode Island-based DiLeonardo drew inspiration from the striking contrast of black manors with red doors found in the more storied corners of Newport. The palette—accentuated by a dramatic matte black color scheme—creates “a rich look and feel,” says DiLeonardo managing partner James Lehouiller.
Location-specific details further echo the industrial heritage, including locally sourced photography in the 84 guestrooms that calls to mind the grittier parts of Newport and exposed timber in the hotel art gallery that pays homage to the lumber mill that once occupied the site.
Led by local architecture firm Union Studio, the building itself is characterized by a public deck and courtyard, stepped terraces accented with greenery, and a central void linking the waterfront to a bustling avenue. “It needed to do so much more than function as a hotel,” says Union Studio principal and managing partner Douglas Kallfelz. “There had to be a piece of this for the general public so anyone coming to visit could wander in, look up, and experience [it].”
Post House
Charleston, South Carolina
Eight years ago, Kate and Ben Towill made the move from New York to Charleston, leaving behind careers in set design and restaurants and events, respectively, to start their next adventure. With that new chapter came the launch of the couple’s design and development company, Basic Projects, which has since broadened its scope of renovating and selling residential properties to include hospitality ventures. “Charleston allows you to move in a more purposeful way,” Ben says of diving back into the hospitality world. “It’s about creating an environment where people can stay and grow with us.”
The Towills’ most recent commercial foray is Post House, a tavern and seven-bedroom inn located in the Old Village district of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. The 1896 building drove many of the design decisions, while the overall concept takes cues from the many “pubs with rooms” found throughout England—Ben’s home country. “When people come to the South, they want something with a lot of character that’s still comfortable, ” says Kate. “It was important that we [pay] homage to the late-1800s era without it feeling too much like your grandma’s house.”
Post House, therefore, features a mix of old and new, with a color palette of blue-green tones—a nod to the property’s seaside setting—and crimson woven throughout. Wallpaper depicting archival patterns by 19th-century textile designer William Morris, antique bedside tables, and sumptuous bedding define the accommodations. Downstairs, a large carnival tent-style chandelier, wood elements, banquette seating, and upholstered barstools create the feeling of a cozy village pub.
Next up, Basic Projects is planning to open a restaurant on Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina in June and is working on two more restaurant/hotels set to debut in 2022. “There’s an entrepreneurial spirit to Charleston,” Ben says. “That’s what’s appealing to people—it’s really a living, breathing city.”
Photos by Nick Simonite, Kirk Roberts, and courtesy of Main Street Hospitality Group
This article originally appeared in HD’s February/March 2021 issue.
