Sewanee Inn Names Manager

Charlestowne Hotels has been chosen by the University to manage the new Sewanee Inn and Conference Center, which is currently under construction.

The upscale development will consist of a 43-room inn and conference facility set on the site of the former Sewanee Inn and overlooking the newly restored golf course. According to Jeremy Thompson of Earl Swensson Associates Inc., the architectural style of the Inn will be a combination of Southern vernacular with collegiate Gothic elements inspired by various buildings around the University campus. 

The exterior will be clad in indigenous Crab Orchard fieldstone and most of the interior millwork will be from trees harvested on the Domain. 

The Inn will be adjacent to a nine-hole golf course [which will open on Sunday, June 9] that has had an extensive renovation by renowned golf course designer Gil Hanse and features long vistas beyond the edge of the plateau. The temperate climate will be conducive to the enjoyment of generous amounts of exterior event space, with terraces located off many of the guestrooms and public areas.

The building structure will consist of two wings: one comprising the lodging accommodations and the other a conference center, which are connected by a grand lobby featuring a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace and large heavy timber trusses in the peaked ceiling. Two lounges will be accessible from the lobby, one downstairs with a cozier setting and fireplace, and one upstairs which will open to the lobby below. Also located off the lobby will be a well-appointed bar area and restaurant with seating that can spill out onto a landscaped exterior terrace.

The conference center wing will contain a grand ballroom with wood flooring, wainscot and exposed beams, as well as a gathering hall with direct access to an exterior terrace along the golf course with a large decorative fireplace. The lodging wing will consist of two floors of guest rooms with balconies on the north side overlooking the golf course and natural scenery. Double gabled bays will give the Inn façade a pleasant sense of rhythm and a visual identity, and decorative brickwork complemented by shakes and slate roofing add to the texture and detail. There will also be several parlors at the end of the wing that will feature wrap-around decks and additional gathering space for guests.

The new management, Charlestowne Hotels, is a full-service hospitality management company offering innovative, yet proven, expertise. Founded in 1980, the firm is a “Top 100” ranked hotel management company by the industry’s four leading trade journals, as determined by a combination of properties, rooms and revenue under management.

Charlestowne Hotel’s portfolio includes the many properties in the Charleston, S.C., area; the Palms Hotel at Isle of Palms, S.C.; the Oceanfront Litchfield Inn at Pawleys Island, S.C.; Sea Trail Golf Resort and Convention Center, Sunset Beach, N.C.; Planters Inn at Reynolds Square, Savannah, Ga.; Glenstone Lodge in Gatlinburg; and Rustic Inn Creekside Resort and Spa and The Lodge at Jackson Hole, Jackson, Wyo.

Earl Swensson Associates, Inc., an architectural firm headquartered in Nashville, provides design services of architecture, interior architecture, master planning and space planning to hospitality clients for hotels, convention centers, resorts, restaurants, spas, golf clubhouses, performing arts venues and arts-related community facilities. Among the projects they have worked on are the Hotel Hershey, the Broadmoor and the Gaylord Opryland. Additionally, they worked on the award-winning Hutton Hotel in Nashville, a boutique hotel and recipient of the USGBC Green Star Award and Urban Land Institute Excellence in Development Award.