Adam, the valet parking coordinator, stands out front on opening day on Friday, July 19, overlooking a newly paved lot, driveway, and entrance to the new hotel. “It’s fully open,” he said. There are a few parking spots out front, but the hotel has more parking in the parking garage across the street.
The Publisher is part of Marriott International’s Tribute Portfolio, managed locally by Ragland at Greenwood Hospitality. The 98-room hotel features penthouse suites, guest rooms, 2,000 square feet of event space, and dining facilities in the Five Chophouse restaurant. The hotel rooms are called “upscale,” the lowest-priced room on the website is a Traditional King Room at the Member Rate, which is flexible for $246 a night. The rates topped out at $409 per night for a King Suite.
Vaskos, a local company, Built the three-story building. It is nestled between historic houses, a pizza place, a Confederate Cemetery, and William Street, which stretches into downtown and across the Rappahannock River.
The lobby décor has a slight hint of a newspaper atmosphere, highlighted by an old typewriter on the shelf, where one could imagine a reporter on deadline, though it was not clear if this was an artifact from the Free Lance-Star.
The hotel location in Fredericksburg is a step up for area businesses, going above and beyond the antique look of the buildings as Fredericksburg looks to expand its tourism aspect to bring recognition and economic vitality. The building was completed in parts, and one part holds Anytime Fitness, a gym that’s been open for nearly one year, but it will now be linked to the hotel by a walkway and an agreement that the guests can use the gym too. This is a step up from the average hotel gym.
With construction outside the gym walls over the past months, “we really didn’t have any problems,” said gym manager Nancy Dominesey.
Across the street is the old Confederate Cemetery, with the graves of the soldiers just on the other side of the old stone wall. One of the weathered Harrison family gravestones was the grave of a Civil War soldier next to George Harrison, born in 1868 and died in 1935. Could this cemetery be an attraction for the new hotel or a detriment due to the recent attention of slavery, race relations, and a shun to this side of history? Only time will tell with the Publisher and this historic cemetery.
“Inspired by the legacy of the city’s oldest newspaper and the site’s last occupant, The Free Lance-Star, The Publisher will be more than a place to stay; it embodies Fredericksburg’s vibrant history where guests can uncover fascinating stories and share them in their unique way,” read the marketing text produced by an off-site public relations firm.
