CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The first heads hit the pillows of Charleston’s newest hotel Monday night. The new Courtyard by Marriott situated between Virginia Street and Kanawha Boulevard is open for business after several months of construction.
“I just believed it was a great location for years and years and years,” said Developer Charlie Wendell. “But I always believed it needed to be a certain product and the product there now is the product I always believed it needed to be.”
The opportunity for the Courtyard hotel wasn’t available until about three years ago. Wendell said as soon as it was available, he seized the chance and now it’s open. The building replaced the old Elk River Motor Lodge which once was one of the major pieces of lodging in the downtown—for years it was the Elk River Holiday Inn. However, the building had outlived its appeal and purpose.
“Hotels do have a shelf life,” Wendell said. “It was an old exterior corridor hotel and was built in that fashion. Consequently I think it just reached the end of its life.”
The new facility features a state-of-the-art lobby, a full-time restaurant, and a courtyard which utilizes the Elk River better than any other hotel in town.
“There’s not another hotel in downtown Charleston which can take advantage of the outside space the way we do,” he said. “I think this property will become a great location for events in the courtyard area along the river.”