The Umstead Hotel

[DanRNC]

Has anyone seen renderings of the Umstead Hotel at the SAS campus? It looks as if construction is steaming ahead but there has been very little info available.

[Subway Scoundrel]

Has anyone seen renderings of the Umstead Hotel at the SAS campus? It looks as if construction is steaming ahead but there has been very little info available.

I drive by it everyday and see they have 2 cranes and it is growing, but don't hear much. I have been meaning to take pictures through the trees but have not found the time. I think there were some older renderings somewhere....

[DanRNC]

Here is a story I found on the hotel.

Story

[raleighfan]

A quick Google search turned up a PDF at this address:

http://www.huntconstructiongroup.com/news/...dmarks_0403.pdf

There is an artist's rendering on p.5.

[paletexan]

A quick Google search turned up a PDF at this address:

http://www.huntconstructiongroup.com/news/...dmarks_0403.pdf

There is an artist's rendering on p.5.

Nice find. It does not matter too much what the hotel's facade will look like because it's buried within the SAS campus limits. Hard to see the construction as is from I-40. It really should have been built over by the Arboretum complex down the street, but that's the town of Cary for you.

[jlblaes]

This weeks TBJ has a blurb about the Umstead Hotel and it includes a mention of the inn's new website.

http://www.theumstead.com/

JB

[DanRNC]

One thing that looks pretty cool from the renderings is the pool/spa(?) next to the lake-kind of European ala Lake Como in Italy. Great hotel/resort there called the Villa d'Este.

[Eastwestrob]

where exactly is this being built?

[NCMike1981]

Is that the building you see just when u are getting off at the Harrison Ave exit from 40 east if u look str8 ahead once u reach the top of the ramp on SAS property? If it is it doesn't look particularly impressive through the trees at this point.

[DanRNC]

Is that the building you see just when u are getting off at the Harrison Ave exit from 40 east if u look str8 ahead once u reach the top of the ramp on SAS property?

Yup and I think its mostly frame so I wouldn't expect it to be impressive at this point.

[avery]

I wonder if there is room for a golf course there?

[Damien]

A lot of people seem to be looking for ammenities such as an in house spa rather than a golf course here lately. Of course that isn't to say that golf courses don't still lure people into hotels and resorts.

[DanRNC]

Don't the Goodnights own Prestonwood CC? Maybe a golf package is arranged through that club.

[DanRNC]

Umstead Hotel opening

The Umstead is opening this month-hopefully I will be able to attend the big southeast venture capital conference there in February.

[ncwebguy]

The restaurant plans to open in January 2007, with a tea service from 3 to 4:30.

Its website (www.heronsrestaurant.com) isn't live yet, but at least it isn't another October Station.

[DanRNC]

The chef (Phil Evans) they are bringing in is one of the best in the country. He is currently the chef at Olives at the St. Regis Resort in Aspen.

[pack-man]

a little place called Aspen?

[paletexan]

a little place called Aspen?

[urbanvb]

Landscape shifts with a new hotel

The Umstead, opening this month, makes rivals rethink their standards

CARY - An $80 million luxury hotel preparing to open in less than two weeks is shaking up the local hospitality industry like never before.

Competitors in Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh have raised room rates. Several rivals are spiffing up with multimillion-dollar renovations. And a battle for the lucrative meeting and wedding business is under way.

"This is something Raleigh hasn't seen before -- a five-star hotel -- and it's a big deal," said Robert Winston III, chief executive of the Raleigh-based Winston Hotels chain. "In 2005, there were only four five-star hotels in New York City."

[dmccall]

I have to say that Bob Winston has been a bit slum-lordish about his own back yard. He hasn't seen the need to provide a nice hotel to this market only because there isn't any competition at that level. He's ignoring true demand. Show just a little pride, Bob.

[DanRNC]

It seems like Bob Winston has no vision for his own town and shocked someone else does. Slap up a cheap box and let it rot-typical redneck mentality.

[urbanesq]

Sounds like a posh place and I hope it succeeds, but I agree with others that the exterior is uninspired, and the location is unfortunate. Call me old fashioned, but I'd prefer that things like the region's tallest building and nicest hotel be downtown. Still, what makes or breaks places like this are the services they provide, and this place seems as though it will offer something (ok, lots of somethings) that nobody else is doing around here. One has to admire Mrs. Goodnight for ambition and vision in that regard.

I'd be interested to hear from folks who have been there, eaten there, spa'd there, etc. once it's up and running for real.

[dmccall]

The location satisfies both Raleigh and RTP's needs for a high end hotel. A downtown location would lose the RTP market.

[DanRNC]

Definitely for RTP execs as the park lacks any decent upscale hotels. The Sheraton is a disgrace.

[ncwebguy]

The Sheraton and Radisson in RTP are both a joke compared to the Umstead. Heck, the Cary Embassay Suites gives the RTP hotels a run for their money. I haven't been to the Hilton since they changed it from a Holiday Inn, but wasn't impressed then.

I hope the wind doesn't blow the sewage treatment plant's odors east toward Harrison Ave.

The Umstead, combined with the nearby Arboretum at Weston's pairing of An, a restaurant that opened last year with the former head chef at Prestonwood, and Ruth's Chris is one of the most upscale areas around a Sam's Club that I know of.