Now that some of the groups I’m in are back into thinking about programming, it’s time to think venues. Leslie and I took a girls’ weekend to the Mountain Brook Grand Bohemian, a Kessler Collection hotel in Marriott’s Autograph Collection a couple of years ago.
I love these Kessler Collection hotels. I’ve stayed at the Bohemian Hotel Savannah Riverfront, and the Mansion on Forsyth Park in Savannah a couple of times now. I saw a video with Richard Kessler once and knew he was a fellow Southerner — turns out he was born in Savannah and grew up in Effingham County. In his 20s, he helped found the much more humble Days Inn chain (and #funfact, it isn’t Days Inn because they thought the name was somehow clever — the other founder was Cecil Day, who was also raised in Georgia and taught at Georgia Tech).
Richard Kessler lives at the Armstrong Kessler Mansion in Savannah and occasionally opens it to groups as a venue.
One of my groups looked into booking a class here — they have several, from how to grill, to hors d’ oeuvres and pasta.
One class, called The Southern Table, has as a sample, students making:
- Pickled Shrimp with Celery and Mustard
- Fried Green Tomatoes with Avocado Ranch
- Johnny Cakes with Blackberry BBQ and Alabama Hot Slaw
- Skillet Berry Cobbler with Thyme and Vanilla Ice Cream
This is where the wine blending class takes place.
On our stay, Leslie and I had breakfast at the hotel restaurant, Habitat Feed & Social, but I haven’t yet been back for lunch or supper.
This is the space, really, though, that we enjoyed most — the rooftop. There’s a VIP Package that’s really just a reservation placeholder deposit that I think one of my smallest groups would get the best use. Av’s been to an event here at night; some venue pics from then here. The art gallery is fun, and there’s what looks to be a small little jewelry box of a spa.
I’d really like to go back to Asheville during the holidays, especially to see the gingerbread competition at the Grove Park Inn — if we don’t stay there, the Grand Bohemian looks fun too.