Lockwood Hotel is officially open, bringing the first boutique experience and new hotel to downtown Waterville’s Main Street in over a century. With a sleek and modern, yet decidedly Maine aesthetic, Lockwood Hotel (developed by Colby College and managed by Charlestowne Hotels) serves as a basecamp for discovery, allowing guests to seamlessly access the endless arts, culture, and outdoor attractions in Waterville and beyond. Front & Main, the onsite restaurant, is already transforming the city’s culinary scene with a hyper-local menu featuring the best of Maine’s farms, fields, bays, and oceans.
The Lockwood Hotel opening is an important milestone in the downtown Waterville revitalization initiative, a collaborative partnership between the city, local businesses, community organizations, and Colby College. Other projects that highlight the significant momentum taking place in the city include the Bill & Joan Alfond Main Street Commons – a student residential complex on Main Street; Greene Block + Studios – an arts collaborative directly across from the hotel; and the forthcoming Paul J. Schupf Art Center. Additional initiatives downtown involve an infrastructure and landscape improvement project, and continued renovation of the Lockwood Mill complex for housing and retail use.
Investments by Colby College to support the resurgence of Waterville have helped attract a wide range of investors and new businesses to the city, with total investment downtown from public and private sources now close to $200 million. This dynamic activity is bringing new economic vitality to downtown, meaningfully contributing to the quality of life for residents, and continuing to grow the city’s stature as an arts and culture destination.
Lockwood Hotel honors the city’s long-standing commitment to the arts. The hotel features artworks curated by the Colby College Museum of Art on display throughout the public spaces. Upon entering the lobby, a piece by acclaimed artist Bernard Langlais flanks the wall behind the front desk, greeting guests with a delightful quilt-like depiction of the artist’s Maine hometown. Additional pieces throughout the hotel’s first floor pay tribute to other Maine artists. Wabanaki basket weavings by Jeremy Frey (photographed by Luc Demers) are also on display in the lobby, while Tanja Hollander’s Maine landscape photography is featured on all guestroom walls.
Guests can enjoy the art gallery setting while unwinding among intimate fireside seating areas in the contemporary lobby, which is designed with natural wood and stone, including reclaimed wood from the Penobscot River. An outdoor patio with fire pits overlooks the south end of Main Street and is the ideal alfresco spot to enjoy cocktails and conversation during warmer months. The lobby, which features gorgeous rugs by Maine artist Angela Adams, is also home to one of the most luxurious and visually impressive bars in the state.
Each of the 53 luxe hotel rooms and suites are modern and spacious with a natural color palette. Warm wood tones and touches of blue and green create a quintessential Maine ambiance that is complemented by idyllic views of vibrant Main Street. Guests are welcome to bring their four-legged travelers with them, who will receive a Doggie Amenity Package filled with local favorites, including treats from Maine-based Loyal Biscuit.
The hotel’s architecture, by the nationally renowned firm Baskervill, is intentionally contemporary to represent Waterville’s future. The hotel’s limestone façade is a nod to the longstanding tradition of limestone-clad civic buildings throughout downtown. The hotel anchors the south end of Main Street and is a beautiful complement to the city’s old post office building – also adorned with limestone – on the north end. The hotel’s large glass windows allude to the welcoming spirit of Waterville, projecting a sense of energy and community in the hotel and restaurant inviting neighbors and guests into the space. The landscaped exterior seating areas repurposed much of the granite that served as the foundation of the clothing store that once stood on the site, Levine’s. A majority of the LEED Silver Certified hotel has been built and decorated with materials from the state.
Lockwood Hotel is home to Front & Main, central Maine’s premier downtown restaurant already transforming the local food scene. Helmed by Executive Chef and New England native Jesse Souza, Front & Main emphasizes the importance of sourcing ingredients from the farms and waters throughout Maine.
Chef Souza has developed strong relationships with local purveyors, such asMaine Grains, which provides the kitchen with freshly milled, organic and heritage grains sourced right from the region. The cheesemonger at Skowhegan’s Crooked Face Creamery, farmers at 3 Level Farm, and fisherman at Harbor Fish are all well-connected to the restaurant, demonstrating Chef’s commitment to creating a menu that is hyper-local.
Thoughtfully curated brunch, lunch and dinner menus change with the season to showcase the freshest ingredients and celebrate Maine and New England favorites with creative twists. Chef’s impeccably prepared Scallop Crudo and Lobster Bucatini perfectly showcase and elevate local shellfish dishes, while the Ployes, an original Acadian dish, and Pork & Beans, Chef’s riff on the classic “Saturday Suppah,” reflect quintessential Maine cuisine.
Lockwood Hotel’s Director of Food & Beverage, John Phillips-Sandy, is a Waterville native overseeing creation of the cocktail and drink menu for the lobby bar and lounge. Local spirit-driven craft cocktails are a highlight of the menu, such as the Riverside Revival, made with Maine’sJigger & Jones gin, Frangelico, lemon and fennel, along with local brews like a custom IPA F/M Radio fromMaine favorite Lone Pine Brewing Company. Robust, thoughtfully curated wine and spirits lists showcase premier labels from around the world, including an extensive selection of whiskeys such as Oban, Glenlivet, Basil Hayden’s and Four Roses. The wine list has an impressive range with a focus on Italian, French, and Californian varietals.
Lockwood Hotel is the premier setting for weddings, college events and graduation celebrations, as well as business meetings in the city. With floor to ceiling windows, the Front & Main private dining room provides a light-filled space for intimate gatherings of up to 14 guests. Off the hotel lobby is the Howard Miller Room, a meeting and event venue with seating for 32 and access to an outdoor terrace that looks out to the new Levine’s Park. Menus for all events are executed via the Front & Main culinary team and reflect the restaurant’s thoughtful concepts.
Guests at the Lockwood Hotel can immerse themselves in Waterville’s robust arts and culture scene. The Colby College Museum of Art is a revered destination for American art, with its permanent collection featuring works from Alex Katz, Maya Lin, Georgia O’Keeffe, Jackson Pollock, Richard Serra, and James McNeill Whistler, among many others. Current and upcoming exhibits include Andrew Wyeth: Life and Death, on view through October 16, 2022, Sarah Cain’s hand in hand, on view through December 11, 2022, and Alex Katz: Theater and Dance, which is on view August 16, 2022, through February 19, 2023. The Colby Museum will also soon expand to Main Street with the Joan Dignam Schmaltz Gallery of Art in the Paul J. Schupf Art Center. The Center is also home to community arts organization Waterville Creates, the state’s only Sundance Art House Project cinema, the Maine Film Center, and the Maine International Film Festival, a 10-day celebration in July that attracts filmmakers and film lovers from around the world. The historic Waterville Opera House, featuring touring musicians, comedians, and community theater, will connect to the Schupf Art Center via a new skywalk. Directly across the street from Lockwood Hotel is Greene Block + Studios, an arts collaborative with studio space for practicing artists and visual and performing arts programming that is free and open to the public.
Lockwood Hotel guests looking to experience the best of Waterville’s great outdoors will have seamless access to hiking and biking trails, as well as fly fishing, which can even be done in the Kennebec River just across the street from the hotel. Those who venture outside Waterville will find areas such as the Belgrade Lakes within a short drive, and stunning coastal and mountain destinations like Portland, Camden, Bar Harbor, Acadia National Park and Sugarloaf Ski Area are one to two hours away. To further encourage guests to take advantage of the hotel’s prime location, Lockwood Hotel will soon unveil a Basecamp Lending Program offering essential adventure goods such as rain gear and backpacks on loan for guests to take on their expeditions through the state.
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