Like the Hotel Clermont before it, Buckhead’s newest boutique lodge has claimed a longstanding building and infused it with retro vibes.

Today marks the official opening of 217-room Kimpton Sylvan Hotel, where designers strived for a “midcentury dream” feel that “welcomes guests into the glamorous world of days-gone-by” at the doorstep of Buckhead Village.

Designed by Hiro Isogai in the early 1950s, with later updates by Niles Bolton Interior Design, the 1952 building stands eight-stories on East Paces Ferry Road. It was most recently the Sobu Flats Buckhead, a condo building, and property records indicate it sold in 2018 for just over $28 million.

The revised exterior. Kimpton Sylvan Hotel

The Kimpton overhaul in Buckhead was led by Matthew Goodrich of New York City-based Goodrich and Ave Bradley, Kimpton’s Global SVP of Design.  

The adaptive-reuse project includes a tucked-away pool, three restaurants and bars, a mod-chic lobby, and more than 4,000 square feet for meetings and events. The Sylvan name is a nod to Atlanta’s famed tree canopy, officials said in a press release today.

Into the new lobby. Cris Molina for Kimpton Hotels

Despite an entire hotel industry beleaguered by COVID-19 and lingering travel restrictions, officials sound optimistic for what the Kimpton brings to the tony Atlanta district.

Chief among the attractions are its “crown jewels,” the three social concepts that span from the base to the building’s roof. They include The Betty, a nostalgic supper club (not to be confused with Candler Park’s Lazy Betty); the Willow Bar, a leafy, tucked-way space in a garden; and the rooftop lounge, St. Julep.  

The St. Julep rooftop lounge. Kimpton Sylvan Hotel

Kimpton bookings for this Saturday night in Buckhead, for example, begin at $187 for single-bed accommodations and $239 for two beds.

The brand now operates more than 60 hotels with 70 restaurants and lounges in 32 cities across the U.S. See more glimpses of its latest venture in the gallery above. 

Buckhead (Urbanize Atlanta)