The Gables

The Gables, an 18-room restoration of Raleigh's last operating motel on the historic Route 1 corridor, is preparing to open in Mordecai from Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Tift Merritt, developer Daniel Robinson and designer Sarah Yarborough of Heyday Studios. The 1928 building sat vacant for roughly a decade before this first-time hotel conversion, with reservations opening for stays from mid-September 2026.

The place

The hotel occupies a 1928 roadside lodge on Wake Forest Road in Mordecai, one of Raleigh's oldest neighborhoods, on what was once part of U.S. Highway 1's New York-to-Miami travel corridor. Before the restoration, the property, known as the Gables Motor Lodge, had the distinction of being the last operating motel on that historic Raleigh stretch of Route 1, sitting vacant for roughly a decade after it closed.

The concept

The Gables is a first-time conversion project, not a rebrand: co-owner Tift Merritt, a Grammy-nominated, Raleigh-born singer-songwriter best known for her 2002 debut Bramble Rose, partnered with developer Daniel Robinson (previously behind The Durham Hotel) and designer Sarah Yarborough of Heyday Studios to restore the old motel's scale and roadside character rather than replace it. The 18 rooms are supplemented by gardens, sleeping porches and outdoor gathering areas, with the design leaning into the building's mid-century travel-corridor history instead of erasing it: Merritt has described wanting a place that is "soulful, welcoming, and deeply rooted in Raleigh." The project also folds in a run of collaborations with independent makers, including East Fork Pottery, Wonder Valley, Garza Marfa, Volupté Studio and Marfa Brand Soaps.

Dining & wellness

Alcove, an intimate indoor-outdoor neighborhood bar, is the property's sole announced food and beverage outlet as of this writing; no full restaurant has been announced.