Before Hotel Revival opened in Baltimore’s Mount Vernon Neighborhood this spring, visitors had few contemporary places to stay. While the nearby Ivy, a Relais & Chateaux hotel set within a stunning Gilded Age mansion, and the Beaux Arts-style Kimpton Hotel Monaco downtown, are sophisticated options, they capture the city’s past more than its present. And, though the Sagamore Pendry was a welcome reprieve when it opened last fall—with 128 rooms designed as an elegant ode to its harbor location—it is Hotel Revival that represents the city’s new credo.
Sitting at the corner of The Washington Monument park, the hotel playfully shifts between past and present. Its circa-1929 building blends in with its Victorian-era neighbors, but inside, you’ll find a lobby styled after a modern loft apartment with eclectic décor and worn-leather furniture. On one wall, a hand-painted mural depicts the neighborhood’s historic Howard’s Woods region by artist Kelly Walker. As homage to the building’s former resident, women’s rights champion Mary Elizabeth Garret, the dining room adjacent to the lobby dubbed “Friday Evening” references the suffrage meetings Garret would conduct every Friday night. In its 107 rooms, loud patterns mix with sleek industrial fixtures and oak-wood furniture in a way that’s fun but polished.
Hotel Revival has quickly become a neighborhood hangout, too, thanks to its rooftop bar and restaurant, which features 60 regional beers (including a pale ale brewed exclusively for the hotel by Peabody Heights), seafood dishes, and some of the best views of the city. Even the street-level restaurant, Square Meal, feels designed for its neighbors, with its easy-access coffee bar and grab-and-go items. Plus, three karaoke rooms hidden at the back of the restaurant bring in a late-night crowd.
A hotel like this makes sense in a neighborhood like Mount Vernon, which is undergoing its own a revival thanks to a series of resident-backed initiatives aiming at restoration and supporting small business development. Now, cultural institutions like the nearby Walters Art Museum and George Peabody Library can be found alongside newcomers like craft cocktail bar Sugarvale, artisan coffeemakers Ceremony Coffee Roasters, and craft beer spot Madison West. Rooms from $150.
