As a travel writer, like most people, this year has been a tough one. Without any travel, I didn’t have much to write about and it made me restless and unhappy. So I was thrilled when we finally saw the end of the tunnel and everyone started getting vaccinated. Those destinations that had closed their doors to visitors were finally opening and I would be able to travel and write about it!
So exciting! My photographer husband Tom and I were interested in viewing the annual fireworks display in Lexington so I contacted a new hotel downtown, the 21C Museum Hotel. We didn’t actually know where it was located since we hadn’t been downtown since it had been opened but we were sure we could find it. Lexington is not that big! We were thrilled when Brian Pulley, their Director of Sales and Marketing, kindly replied to my email and offered us a one night stay.
Front of the hotel in downtown Lexington,
We made plans for our stay and invited my brother and sister in law to join us in visiting and watching the fireworks. We were so excited! This was the first trip we were taking in over a year! We weren’t going far but we packed our suitcase, snacks and any other sundries we might need for our one night stay, then headed downtown to our fabulous hotel!
Occupying the historic Fayette National Bank Building originally designed by McKim, Mead and White, award-winning firm Deborah Berke Partners embraced the building’s historic features to create 21c Lexington, where contemporary and historic meet and contrast. The owners of this hotel and others they own throughout the United States, wanted to use existing buildings and to share their wonderful artwork with the general public. The art displays throughout the hotels are all free and everyone is welcome to come in and browse.
With high ceilings and large historic windows, guests rooms feel residential and serve as, a comfortable respite from the thought-provoking art and activity that fills the museum galleries. Outfitted with custom-designed contemporary furnishings, comfortable beds, plush robes, and Malin + Goetz bath amenities, the spaces are designed to leave you feeling refreshed and restored. Blue penguins dot the hotel and are located everywhere from the front entrance to outside the hotel rooms. We left our car with the hotel representative and headed in the front door to check in and see everything.
Fabulous and lovely penguins!
Darling penguins!
We visited with the front desk woman and then headed to the elevator with our room keys and our suitcases with our belongings for the night. We were interested to see all the artwork throughout the hotel including the front entrance but waited for a tour of the area from our contact person. A beautiful glass sculpture hung in the entrance foyer and introduced us to the art in the hotel.
Beautiful art sculpture in the entrance foyer.
We made our way up to our room for the night, passing by all kinds of art displays. Our room was lovely with a beautiful view of downtown Lexington. We had a nice sitting area with a couch and a big, flat screen television.
Wonderful, spacious room.
The bathroom was large with plenty of bath products for us to use.
Lovely bathroom.
We settled into our comfy room and waited for the rest of our party to arrive. In the meantime, we got an email from Brian asking if we had settled in and if we wanted to get together for a tour. We replied that we were waiting for our friends but would then be ready for a tour. Finally, we all got together in the front lobby and Brian led us on a very interesting and informative tour of the hotel and the artwork, telling us all about all the hotels and how innovative they are with their art displays. It’s truly a unique and beautiful hotel and we enjoyed seeing and hearing all about all the artwork.
One of the many pieces of artwork throughout the hotel.
Brian showed us the restaurant Lockbox which has absolutely wonderful food and we planned to visit in a little while before the fireworks show.
View of the wonderful restaurant kitchen!
An original safe from the hotel’s bank background.
After our wonderful tour, Brian left us in the restaurant for our dinner. Which was wonderful! We all ordered something different and I totally forgot to take pictures of our great food so you will have to go sample it yourself!
Beautiful restaurant and even more penguins!
After our lovely dinner, we headed back to our room to rest for a while before we set out to find the perfect spot to view the fireworks. We crossed Triangle Park which was right across the street and passed by little shops and restaurants, heading to the ideal location.
Triangle Park
Beautiful downtown Triangle Park.
Nice shopping area.
We found the perfect viewing location and set up our chairs which we had brought with us. We people watched and enjoyed the warm, beautiful evening then enjoyed the wonderful fireworks show! We were so glad we didn’t have to deal with the traffic and just wave goodbye to our friends as we headed up to our beautiful hotel room for the night. How wonderful! We had a lovely relaxing night, then packed up the next morning and were home in just a few minutes. A nice change from some of the long drives we had had.
We had an absolutely lovely time and loved everything about our stay. If you are looking for a place to stay, we absolutely recommend the 21C Museum Hotel in Lexington. Check it out and you will love it as much as we did!
Our stay was provided by the lovely folks at the hotel and we really appreciate it!
Follow
