The Vinoy Resort and Golf Club in St. Petersburg, Fla., has completed the initial phase of a renovation led by architecture and design firm Rockwell Group with Hart Howerton as architect of record. The renovation includes The Vinoy’s veranda, the lobby, guestrooms, ballrooms and meeting spaces, food-and-beverage venues and a new spa and wellness area. The property also has joined Marriott International's Autograph Collection.
The hotel, which is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and is a member of Historic Hotels of America, is the only Autograph Collection property in St. Petersburg.
The reimagined arrival court, designed by Hart Howerton, highlights the detailed original entry portal while incorporating original 1920s brick that has been carefully relaid and is surrounded by indigenous Floridian foliage. The veranda, The Vinoy’s front porch, has custom Rockwell Group-designed rocking chairs, a Vinoy tradition since its opening in 1925, and a custom-designed bar.
“The Vinoy Resort and Golf Club, Autograph Collection has served as the front porch of the St. Petersburg community for nearly a century, and its refreshed aesthetic pays homage to its legacy while also representing our revitalized downtown,” Vanessa Williams, the resort’s general manager, said in a statement. “The Vinoy is stepping onto the world’s stage as one of a few waterfront hotels in the United States that has full resort amenities along with urban walkability. Steps from the front door, guests have choice of multiple world class museums and hundreds of restaurants all within walking distance.”
With nods to the urban resort’s past, the Rockwell Group introduced a design throughout the public spaces and guestrooms that celebrates The Vinoy’s traditional Mediterranean Revival style and old-world Florida grandeur. The lobby still has the original ceramic tile flooring and the original cypress wood beam ceiling from 1925. The original details are balanced with contemporary design elements including custom, lantern-like chandeliers. The lobby has a newly opened French patisserie and a luxury fashion boutique. Above the lobby, the mezzanine level will have a revitalized history gallery.
“Our goal was always to honor The Vinoy’s storied past and history as an architectural icon of St. Petersburg,” said Shawn Sullivan, partner of Rockwell Group. “Rockwell Group’s design concept blends a sophisticated, contemporary language with grand historic features. I think guests will be both surprised and delighted by the ways in which unmistakably 21st century elements really reinvent the property’s rich legacy.”
Rockwell Group’s design of The Vinoy’s guestrooms is influenced by Florida’s coastal topography and features the hotel’s signature polished palette, streamlined crown molding and dramatic fixtures. The walls have commissioned custom art by painter Alicia LaChance. In the king rooms, cane panels separate the entry vestibule from the bedroom area. Most of the stone-covered bathrooms have marble walk-in showers.