Hotel Excelsior - It Fits - and Hits Different
If I had a nickel for every conversation about the future of a hotel in Excelsior . . . well, I’d buy everyone a drink at the pub this weekend.
It would be a celebratory drink with great news! We no longer have to wait for this dream to come to fruition, because Hotel Excelsior will be opening any day now, and it’s just the right fit for our lakeside community. Cheers to Jay Verdoorn and Tyler Nelson for putting this all together.
Short on rooms but long on charm and comfort, the four suites of Hotel Excelsior on Water Street will provide a much-coveted space to stay, play, dine, shop, cook, rest and celebrate. With two studios and two one-bedrooms, these pretty, lake-esque rooms are designed for simple luxury and no details left to be imagined.
Heated floors? Yes. Wool blankets from Faribault Woolen Mill, opening on the street level soon. Beautiful bathrooms. And all the technology needs you’ll want if completely disconnecting isn’t your jam.
As a cook, I was especially drawn to the fully-equipped kitchens with top notch appliances and promises to be filled with good knives, cookware, and a few pantry staples to get the meals started. A quick jaunt across the street to the Abundant Kitchen could fill in a few snacks and great food ingredients and items, and after all, Kowalski’s is just down the way.
Last week, Natalie Webster and I got a tour of the space, and learned a few fun details about what’s to come when the hotel opens. We’re excited about the local partnership possibilities. Boat cruise and hotel stay. Dinner out and a night in. Shopping specials, festivals and breweries and endless opportunities. Hotel Excelsior wants to make sure that if you’re the go-er and do-er, you’ll have no shortage of plans to make. If you never want to leave your room, that’s an excellent idea as well.
There’s another lakeside town with a larger hotel and more rooms, a high-end restaurant and other such things, but it’s situated away from the action and essentially built on a marsh. Hotel Excelsior is RIGHT THERE on Water Street, with two rooms having views of our charming town and all its daytime bustle and nighttime quiet and twinkly lights. If you’d rather be away from the action, you can enjoy the deck or patio in the back, which will be private and cozy, enclosed by beautiful plants.
As mentioned, Faribault Woolen Mill is opening on the street level, in the old Capers space. What will happen with the other vacancy next door? Hotel Excelsior was hard-pressed to share details, but assured us when the ink was dry on that lease, the news would get out asap. Being the persuasive talker I am, I was able to extract that when you have a hotel and a gift shop, the only logical rounding out of offerings would include some sort of food and beverages for guests to take to their rooms or out on the boat. Don’t expect a restaurant, though. Outside-the-box thinking and creative ideas are the focus here.
As a 53-year resident of the area, I’ve never waxed nostalgic about the idea of a big hotel dominating the town and the snarling traffic and parking issues that would ensue. I’m 100% sold on the boutique hotel idea, small and intimate, beautifully and thoughtfully appointed. Hotel Excelsior is already proving to look and feel like an old friend on Water Street.