Courtyard by Marriott Baton Rouge Downtown is slated to open its doors Friday, the hotel announced this morning, culminating five years of planning and construction for the $23 million project.
The hotel was originally supposed to open in late 2017 but the 2016 floods and more weather delays pushed the timeline back to May 2018. Additional weather issues and limited physical space around the construction site further delayed the scheduled opening.
Downtown Development District Executive Director Davis Rhorer says the hotel will have a soft opening Friday, followed by a grand opening in the next couple weeks. To honor the opening, the hotel sign will light up Friday at 7:30 p.m.
“It’ll be right after Live After Five kicks off, right before the LSU game Saturday night and when there are other things going on at Manship Theatre,” Rhorer says. “This intersection is ground zero for city government, state government and the court system, as well as a diverse array of businesses.”
Ben Blackwell, general manager of Courtyard Baton Rouge Downtown, previously told Daily Report the hotel would be ready for LSU’s Sept. 22 football game against Louisiana Tech. Blackwell could not be reached for comment about the additional delay prior to publication.
Located at the corner of Florida and Third streets, the 135-room hotel will operate the first downtown Starbucks, opening for business on Friday.
It’s historically significant, Rhorer notes, because the Courtyard sits on the site of the first hotel in Baton Rouge, the Hotel Istrouma, where there was also a nearby coffee shop.
The eight-story building features Courtyard’s latest contemporary room design, which primarily caters to business travelers by offering “hybrid zones for working, sleeping, relaxing and getting ready.” It also includes a fitness center, guest laundry and 960 square feet of meeting space to accommodate functions of up to 50 people.
The site will operate as a Marriott franchise, owned by Istrouma Hospitality, LLC, developed by Windsor Aughtry of Greenville, South Carolina, and managed by Hospitality America, LLC of Brentwood, Tennessee.
