Hotel Indigo Athens University Area is open now, with rooms from $127
Boasting spa inspired showers with Aveda bath products, the 12 suites and 130-eco chic rooms of Hotel Indigo Athens University Area's earth friendly grand debut is on schedule for September 23rd. But don’t let that stop you from being amongst the first to break the 3,000 square foot presidential suite!
Up until now, an overnight visit to Athens meant camping out in, well, let’s just say there no W Hotel nearby. For this reason the academically elite tend to stay by day, returning to nearby Atlanta by night, offering such excuses as “I think I’ll stay closer to the airport,” which reminds me of the episode of Sex in the City, when Miranda excuses herself from a date under the auspices of having to return home to feed the cat! Not even the delight of the award winning Margarita’s at Aqua Linda, or dinner at nationally acclaimed Five & Ten could keep the shabby, or chic from making the one hour drive back to Atlanta until now.
Hotel Indigo Athens University Area is THE first private development in Athens, Ga., to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). It is one of only five hotels in the nation to achieve Gold status. Amongst it's many green attributes, here are my top ten:
1. The building was constructed from 30% recycled content and 43% locally manufactured and extracted materials.
2. Building aligned on East-West axis for maximum sun exposure.
3. Low flow plumbing fixtures in every room, including toilets, showers and faucets.
4. Regenerative elevators, variable-refrigerant-flow-zoning heating and air conditioning systems
5. An outdoor courtyard features water cistern that collects condensation from air conditioning to supply irrigation to courtyard plantings.
6. Improved air quality due to use of low VOC paints, adhesives and sealants.
7. In-room coffee provided by local coffee roaster – Jittery Joe’s.
8. Guest room furniture (headboards, bedside tables, TV console) sourced from regional manufacturer Dillon Furniture Company of Dillon, S.C., located less than 500 miles from the hotel.
9. All artwork printed on biodegradable material; all frames made by local artists and constructed from reclaimed barn wood.
10. Priority parking for hybrids and carpool vehicles with a bike rack and showers for employees who bike to work.
Through the brand’s Interpret Indigo design platform, the hotel’s design reflects the local culture, character and geography of Athens. Atlanta-based Surber Barber Choate & Hertlein Architects Inc. shaped the building reminiscent of covered bridges throughout the region, while New York's Ellen Hanson Designs contributed “southern farmstead modern” interiors. Local artwork throughout the hotel--most of which (if not all) is for sale, is provided by Mercury Art Works of Athens. Guest rooms are further bejeweled by nature with massive murals of native flowers discovered in a nearby garden and captured through the lens of local photographer Rinne Allen.
Entertainment wise, the property is poised to deliver live performances in the intimate, acoustically sound concert room on the lower level, with street access. The proposed line-up of performing artists in the series includes local talent, to Grammy® award winners, and others in between. The very stylish and warm adjoining lounge makes it possible to heighten the senses with a bit of libation both during and in between sets. Then again there is always the option to head upstairs to the crisp, clean lobby setting of Phi Bar & Bistro. Rise and shine the morning after for room service starting at 6am, or head back down to the bistro to sit amongst friends on the morning after to partake of the delightful steak and eggs breakfast that sounded simply marvelous on the room service menu as well.
Remember, you don't have to wait to September 23rd to experience the bliss!
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