First Look at Downtown Asheville's Hotel Arras

The independent, boutique and luxe Hotel Arras is slated to open in downtown Asheville, North Carolina in early spring of 2019, providing lucky guests with stunning views of the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains and convenient proximity to the city's one-of-a-kind arts and craft beer scenes.

Developed by McKibbon Hospitality and Tower Associates, the hotel will be housed inside Asheville's former BB&T Bank building, the tallest building in Western North Carolina. Luxury residences will also be located in the 18-story building above the hotel.

Some notable highlights of Hotel Arras will include 128 guestrooms and suites, a pair of on-site restaurants and 3,000 square feet of modern meeting space for hosting events and social gatherings.

In addition to gorgeous views, Hotel Arras' artfully designed rooms and suites will feature "modern mountain" decor and boast soft, cozy bedding and crisp linens as well as spa-like bathrooms.

Artwork by local artist Catherine Murphy reminiscent of the nearby French Broad River and tapestry by Asheville artist Wendy Newman will be featured in each room. Overall, Hotel Arras' unique art collection will showcase between 15-20 artists from Asheville and the surrounding region.

Hotel Arras guests with wellness on the mind will also have access to a fully equipped fitness center, a yoga studio and a massage room.

Guests can also look forward to valet parking, mobile check-in and room service as well as second-floor event space offering a trio of boardrooms and a flexible space that can accommodate up to 150 people.

The hotel will offer not one but two independent restaurants on site, including Bargello, a Mediterranean restaurant specializing in whole preparations for sharing, house-made pastas and foods prepared over an open fire oven. It will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner.

A more casual dining spot will cater to guests looking to gather any time of day for small bites and hand-crafted cocktails. Jordan Arace of the nearby Posana Restaurant will serve as Executive Chef of both restaurants.

The hotel's wine cellar will be available to rent for private entertaining while a fully stocked Nightly Serenity Cart will be available to guests each evening to provide books by local Asheville authors, an assortment of local teas and honey, a selection of whiskeys and milk and cookies, among other bedtime treats.