The Virginia Guesthouse Hotel and Conference Center held its official grand opening on Wednesday, weeks after welcoming its first guests on April 6.
Speakers at the event included University of Virginia President Scott Beardsley, General Manager Gregg Hilker, UVA Foundation CEO Deborah van Eersel and Isaac Hicks, chief operating officer of Pyramid Global Hospitality, which manages the property. Guests toured the nine-story, 214-room hotel and sampled bites and drinks from its dining options.
Beardsley called Guesthouse’s location meaningful.
Attendees mingle in the Grand Ballroom foyer during the Virginia Guesthouse’s grand opening event on Wednesday. The nine-story hotel and conference center opened to guests on April 6. (Photo by Matt Riley, University Communications)
“By placing this sanctuary of hospitality here – physically nestled between the School of Data Science and the Karsh Institute of Democracy – we are making a profound statement,” he said. “We are asserting that hospitality is, itself, a civic virtue.
“We are suggesting that the most complex data and the most vital democratic debates require a ‘living room’ – a space where community is forged over a shared meal.”
