In less than a month, the brand new 30-story, 612-room Omni Louisville Hotel will open its doors to the public for the first time. The property adds an additional 70,000 square feet of flexible event space to the destination’s meeting offerings. And planners hosting events at the Omni will have access to an additional 300,000 square-feet of meeting and exhibit space at the nearby Kentucky International Convention Center. The Omni Louisville will open just in time for the reopening of the convention center, in the summer of 2018, after a roughly $200 million renovation and expansion.
According to Scott Stuckey, general manager of the Omni Louisville, the new property “will feature more than 20 authentic experiences to both hotel guests and locals.” These experiences include multiple restaurants, including the upscale Bob’s Steak and Chop House and Neighborhood Services, serving meals throughout the day. And local coffee chain, Heine Bros. Coffee, will also open a location inside the Omni.
One of the most anticipated features of the Omni, according to Stuckey, is the Falls City Market. The 20,000-square-foot urban food market will offer grocery staples and hot food options, like breakfast sandwiches and other made-to-order items. It will also feature a flower and wine shop.
“One of the most talked-about additions will be a dynamic urban market and food hall,” Stuckey tells PCMA. “It will combine the energy and local feel of a street market, with the warmth and familiarity of Heine Brothers, and Iron Quarter, a beer growler bar serving signature Neapolitan pizzas and beer on tap.”
The Omni Louisville will also take advantage of the destination’s growing bourbonism. New bourbon distilleries are opening up throughout Louisville, and large groups can enjoy bourbon tours on bike or via bus. Also, onsite at the Omni will be a bourbon shop and a speakeasy with a bowling alley.
“Because Louisville enjoys a growing international reputation as a culinary leader, Omni Louisville will naturally feature a wide array of food and beverage options, more even than some of our locations in larger cities,” Stuckey says. “From food truck tacos to locally roasted coffee, to upscale dining inside and out, the hotel will feature fine local, national, and international brands.”
The new property will also feature 226 luxury apartments, a lobby art gallery, a rooftop pool deck with bar and dining amenities, a fitness center, several retail shops, and Mokara, a deluxe spa. The décor of the Omni will also be unique, in that it will have a color scheme that reflects the tones and textures of bourbon.
“Louisville has a rich, unique flavor that makes you feel like you’ve been someplace special,” Stuckey says. “It has a culinary tradition that means it’s restaurants are featured against the best in the world. And we have lots of opportunities for team building, networking, and socializing in fabulous and unusual locations.”
For instance, groups can watch the making of a Slugger Bat for Major League Baseball players at the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory; attend horse races at Churchill Downs, the most storied racetrack in America; visit Bourbon distilleries that provide the world with America’s favorite signature drinks; and learn more about “The Greatest” at the Muhammad Ali Center.
“When people leave an event in Louisville,” Stuckey says, “they feel like they’ve learned something new, tried some new food, and relaxed in a place that’s unlike anywhere they’ve been before.”