Taconic Hotel to be Managed by Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants

MANCHESTER — A company based in San Francisco has been chosen to manage the new Taconic Hotel, set to open this fall.

Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants announced Tuesday that it will be managing the 87-room hotel, located at 3835 Main Street.

Aimee Grove, a spokeswoman for Kimpton, said the company will manage all of the hotel’s workings including marketing, hiring, and training staff. The hotel will need positions filled at all levels, from housekeeping, to maintenance, to management.

“In addition to the economic boost generated by the construction and furnishing of the Taconic, there will be local jobs created at the hotel and restaurant,” said Mike DeFrino, Kimpton chief executive officer in an email. “We don’t have a specific number of jobs just yet, but when we open a new property, we’re looking to hire everyone from the back-of-the-house all the way up to management. There will be numerous positions available for housekeeping, the front office, engineering, accounting and finance, sales and marketing, etc. We also take care to bring in Kimpton veterans from various disciplines who can help train and inspire the teams on the ground leading up to the opening.”

An exact date for the opening hasn’t been set.

Kimpton has four hotels in the Boston area and this would mark its first property in Vermont. According to a press release, over the past year the company has begun managing hotels in Savannah, Ga., Sedona, Ariz., Palm Beach, Fla., and Huntington Beach, Calif. It plans to begin managing hotels in Palm Springs, Calif. and Grand Cayman in 2016.

“Given the popularity we’ve experienced in Vermont’s primary drive markets of New York and Boston, where Kimpton already operates a combined seven hotels, it was a logical decision to extend our footprint here and be a part of this exciting project,” said DeFrino. “The Taconic also offered us the opportunity to create a gorgeous year-round destination resort and to partner again with Heaton Companies, with whom we’ve had great success at our Vero Beach Hotel & Spa in Florida.”

Heaton Companies and First Cambridge Capital are the investment groups behind the Taconic Hotel, which used to be known as the Village Country Inn.

DeFrino said in an email that he expects the hotel’s proximity to two ski resorts, Bromley Mountain and Stratton Mountain, to be a large draw for guests as well as the area’s boating, hiking, wedding, and foliage options.

“Also, this particular project – given the care being put into the authentic, locally inspired architectural design and features of the property – were a great fit with the standards we strive for with Kimpton as a brand. It’s going to be a gorgeous property enjoyed by visitors and local residents alike,” he said.

Kimpton’s are known for providing amenities such as yoga mats in all rooms, loaning bicycles to guests for free, nightly wine hour, and being pet-friendly.

“We also give each property the freedom to interpret go-to programs as they see fit for the region – we want to convey a sense of place so that guests can get a taste for Vermont living,” he said.

He said Kimpton hotels each strive to offer an experience unique to the area they’re in, so local amenities and programs vary. The company calls this a “boutique” approach to hotel management.

When open, the hotel will feature rooms with views of the Taconic mountain range for which it’s named, as well as the Green Mountains, three cottages, 110 seat tavern with 75 additional patio seats. It will also feature a 2,600 square foot ballroom as well as an outdoor space for events such as weddings.

Two other hotels are slated to come into town as well, they being a Hampton Inn and a Mediterranean-themed spa. Clark French, an investor involved with Taconic, told the Manchester Journal in April that marketing studies he and his partners commission show that Manchester could use between 380 and 420 hotel rooms. The Journal reported that the average room at the Taconic would be about $250 per night, with some rooms going for more.

The project’s backers said they hope the hotel will be enjoyed by locals as well through its restaurant and bar, as well as venues for events.