A much-needed hotel opens in Charlottesville.
Opened in April, Kimpton’s first on-campus property, The Forum Hotel, comes to the Grounds of the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. The five-story Jeffersonian-style building brings 198 much-needed guest rooms and 12 suites to Charlottesville.
While it welcomes all visitors, the hotel is equipped with state-of-the-art classrooms and a lecture hall, a boon to Darden’s executive education and non-degree programs. “The hotel—and its arboretum and botanical gardens—isn’t just beautiful; it supports Darden’s academic mission,” says Scott Bearsley, Darden School Dean. As the school expands its lifelong learning programs, the hotel provides an added convenience for students whose classes require only periodic visits to the Grounds.
A taphouse, The Good Sport, and steakhouse, Birch & Bloom, also make Kimpton The Forum a lively gathering place for both locals and visitors. Executive chef Eric Brownlee, who hails from Charleston’s popular Cork Neighborhood Bistro, says the new restaurant celebrates, “the incredible farms, producers, brewers, and winemakers nearby.”
Set on a five-acre arboretum with curated botanical garden, the hotel’s property connects visitors to the Rivanna Trail and includes an amphitheater and event lawn, making it, says Bearsley, “a place for social, spiritual, and educational growth and wellness.” ForumHotelCharlottesville.com
Thursday, September 7: Kimpton “Off the Record” Presents: The Dip, 6 p.m. (tickets)
