It’s opening day at the Publisher Hotel in Old Town Fredericksburg. Staff are busy in the lobby and adjacent restaurant, preparing the final details of this growing city’s newest tourist facility.
Adam, the valet coordinator, stands outside the entrance on opening day Friday, July 19, overlooking a newly paved parking lot, driveway and entrance to the new hotel. “It’s fully open,” he said. There are a few parking spaces outside the entrance, but the hotel has more parking in the parking garage across the street.
The publisher is part of Marriott International’s Tribute Portfolio, which is managed locally by Ragland at Greenwood Hospitality. The 98-room hotel offers penthouse suites, guest rooms, 2,000 square feet of event space and dining at Five Chophouse restaurant. The hotel’s rooms are described as “upscale.” The cheapest room on the website is a traditional king room at the member rate, which is flexible for $246 per night. Maximum rates for a king suite are $409 per night.
The three-story building was built by Vaskos, a local company, and is nestled among historic homes, a pizzeria, a Confederate cemetery and William Street, which stretches downtown and across the Rappahannock River.
There is an aura of creativity around 711 Willam Street in downtown Fredericksburg. For 131 years, this property was the center of activities for the Free Lance-Star, the local daily newspaper, until it moved to Central Park and the old building was demolished in 2016.
The lobby’s decor has a somewhat newspaper feel, enhanced by an old typewriter on the shelf. One might imagine a reporter on a deadline here, although it’s not clear if this is an artifact from the Free Lance-Star.
The hotel’s location in Fredericksburg is a step forward for area businesses. It goes beyond the antique look of the buildings, as Fredericksburg is looking to expand its tourism aspect to gain exposure and economic vitality. The building was completed in sections, and one section houses Anytime Fitness, a gym that has been open for almost a year, but will now be connected to the hotel by a walkway and there is an agreement that guests can use the gym as well. This is a step forward compared to the average hotel gym.
With the construction work outside the gym in recent months, “we really haven’t had any problems,” said gym director Nancy Dominesey.
Across the street is the old Confederate Cemetery, with the soldiers’ graves just on the other side of the old stone wall. One of the Harrison family’s weathered headstones 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 recent attention to slavery, race relations and an avoidance of that 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 just a place to stay; it will embody Fredericksburg’s living history, where guests can discover fascinating stories and share them in their own unique way,” says the marketing text, created by an outside PR firm.
