Kimpton Cottonwood Hotel

Kimpton Cottonwood Hotel opened in November 2020 in the former Blackstone Hotel, a building completed in 1915 (some sources say 1916) and restored for $75 million. It is Kimpton's first hotel in Nebraska, with 205 rooms. The address is 302 South 36th Street, in Midtown Omaha's Blackstone District.

The place

The Blackstone District sits in Midtown, west of downtown Omaha, and takes its name from the hotel. The Old Market, Midtown Crossing, the Joslyn Art Museum and the Durham Museum are the nearby places the hotel lists for guests.

The hotel stands in a residential setting, with front lawns and a pool deck rather than a street wall. That is part of the plan: the new annex repeats architectural patterns from the surrounding Gold Coast neighbourhood.

The concept

The Blackstone was an eight-storey example of Second Renaissance Revival architecture. Omaha made it a city landmark in 1983 and it joined the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. It is the place often credited with the Reuben sandwich, a claim the new restaurant plays on. The hotel stayed popular into the 1970s, counted John Kennedy and Richard Nixon among its guests, and was later turned into office space before this restoration.

Leo A Daly handled architecture and engineering, and DLR Group led the interiors, working with Kimpton's own design team. The restoration kept a winding marble staircase, original tile and hardwood floors, hand-carved terracotta columns and pilasters, and a ballroom on the eighth floor with terraces over the city. The historic tower is joined to a new annex.

The hotel presents itself as a mix of European-inspired glamour and Midwestern hospitality, and some press coverage ties the design to the Jazz Age. A solarium looks over a new pool deck and lawns.

Peloton bikes equip a fitness centre that is open around the clock, and guests can borrow bikes at no charge. Bath products are by Atelier Bloem. The hotel also runs a membership programme, the Cottonwood Social Club.

Dining & wellness

Five food and drink concepts share the building. The Committee Chophouse is the steakhouse, with nods to the old Blackstone. The Orleans Room, once among the best-known restaurants in Omaha, comes back as a French-influenced all-day room with its own version of the Reuben. Petite Orleans is the cafe attached to it.

The Cottonwood Room is the cocktail bar, a basement lounge in the manner of a speakeasy, with a circular bar and a faux cottonwood tree growing from its centre.

In summer, the Pool Club serves poolside food and drink, next to a resort-style pool and hot tub. The Fontenelle Tea Room completes the list of outlets.