AC Hotel by Marriott Greenville Downtown to celebrate Greenville through art and design

New downtown hotel will showcase local artists and feature unique design inspired by the destination

Auro Hotels is delighted to announce that the AC Hotel by Marriott Greenville Downtown will celebrate its hometown through showcasing local artists in Art at AC Greenville, one of the largest privately owned art collections in Greenville County. The hotel’s modern and thoughtful design will also pay homage to the destination. Nestled in the heart of downtown on Camperdown Plaza, AC Hotel Greenville Downtown is set to open in early spring.

“Greenville is emerging as a top destination for art and design, and we are proud to not only contribute to the city’s cultural offerings, but also directly support our local artists,” said DJ Rama, president and chief executive officer of Auro Hotels. “As one of the hotel’s pillars, we focused on curating this inspiring art collection, and we are thrilled to showcase talented local artists with the community and our guests to enjoy.”

Art at AC Greenville will feature over 100 pieces of art by 30 local artists. The robust collection includes works by both emerging and established artists in a range of mediums and styles, and nearly every piece in the collection is commissioned especially for the hotel. Auro Hotels worked closely with Metropolitan Arts Council’s Executive Director Alan Ethridge to select the artists and collaborated with Art and Light Gallery to curate and install the collection.

“We are honored to work with Auro Hotels and help realize DJ’s mission to meaningfully promote and champion local artistic talent,” said Teresa Roche, owner of Art and Light Gallery. “With its spectrum of original works and artists, the collection at AC Hotel Greenville Downtown will be truly exceptional and further solidify the city’s art scene as one of the very best in the region.”

From the outside entrance on Camperdown Plaza and the hotel reception area, to the elevator lobby and each of the hotel’s restaurants and bars, guests and visitors will discover Art at AC Greenville, a diverse art collection consisting of sculpture, collages, paintings, murals, photography, furniture, works on paper, textiles, pottery and more. The collection will highlight local artists including Andy Gambrell, Katie Walker, Jo Carol Mitchell-Rogers, Dorothy Shain and Teresa Roche among many others, and additionally showcase a sculpture by Avnish B Godhani, an artist based in Rama’s hometown of Surat, Gujarat, India. The stunning 4’10” x 6’ sculpture commissioned by Auro Hotels is sure to impress as a centerpiece of the collection on display in Juniper, the immersive rooftop space located on top of the AC Hotel Greenville Downtown.

Inspired by Greenville’s history, the surrounding natural elements, and the hotel’s location on the site of the former Greenville News building, AC Hotel Greenville Downtown’s design will also pay tribute to its hometown. Striking yet subtle design features that nod to the local area include a sleek lobby desk created from local stone beneath a smokey glass installation that suggests the nearby Blue Ridge Mountains; large factory-style windows and mill-inspired oversized fabric drapes alluding to Greenville’s rich history of textile production; and a deconstructed newspaper print pattern pointing to The Greenville News. Plush seating in neutral tones, classic leather
furniture pieces, and a color palette of deep inky shades and warm cognac colors perfectly complement the European printhouse-modern interior design, which is seen throughout the lobby area and first floor gathering spaces, as well as in the dedicated meeting and event spaces on the first two floors.

The destination and beloved local area also inspired the look and feel of the seven restaurants and bars located at the hotel, which are Juniper, The Secret Garden, Fire Box, The Press Room, Paloma, Social Burger and AC Kitchen. Design elements that reference Greenville include a dramatic metal mesh curtain suspended above the bar in Paloma nodding to The Peace Center for Performing Arts and the entrance to The Press Room, which will incorporate treasured relics from The Greenville News archives.

Owned and operated by Auro Hotels, AC Hotel Greenville Downtown will feature 196 modern and elegant guestrooms. The hotel will also offer nearly 29,000 sq. ft. of space available for meetings and events. Guests will enjoy multiple dining concepts, and Juniper, a 16,000 sq. ft. all season, immersive rooftop space. AC Hotel Greenville Downtown is scheduled to open early spring 2021 and is part of the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program. For more information, visit @ACHotelGreenville.