A seven-story Aloft hotel that will open this month next to Chattanooga's Hamilton Place mall will offer what its developer calls a rare amenity for a suburban property in a midsize city - a rooftop bar.
"We'll be one of the first in the country," said Mitch Patel, chief executive officer of Chattanooga hotel company Vision Hospitality Group. "Rarely do you see it in suburban locations."
He said the rooftop bar, called the WXYZ Lounge, also will set the 135-room Aloft apart from the more than 25 hotels which are clustered around the Hamilton Place area.
"We wanted to do something more unique," Patel said.
Instead of putting the lounge in the hotel lobby on the ground floor, Vision Hospitality took it to the seventh-story roof, he said.
"We took it and elevated it," Patel said. "Now it becomes almost a destination."
While the view won't be as compelling as Vision's downtown Chattanooga hotel along the Tennessee River, The Edwin, the Aloft's bar will offer vantage points to the surrounding area and the mountains, he said.
"People like fresh air," the hotel developer said, adding that the bar won't just serve Aloft guests but other patrons as well.
Stacey Keating, senior director of public relations for mall owner CBL Properties, said the rooftop bar is an exciting part of the programming of the Aloft. The hotel is among the kind of uses CBL officials are looking to add to its properties nationally as its malls transition to suburban town centers, she said.
Keating said the aim is to continue to diversify the mix at its properties by adding dining options, entertainment, and hotels. She cited Hamilton Place mall's addition of the hotel, Cheesecake Factory and Dave & Buster's in the former Sears space and parking lots.
CBL is even marketing some of the old Sears to potential office users, she said.
In addition, Keating said, more mall foot traffic is returning as coronavirus vaccinations rise.
"March sales were similar to holiday season sales," she said.
Patel said the timing of the hotel's opening could be better given the pandemic, but construction started before the coronavirus hit.
"We believe it's a sustainable industry," he said about the lodging business. "Chattanooga is back strong. We're definitely heading in a better direction."
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @MikePareTFP.