Grand Bohemian welcomes community at ribbon-cutting ceremony [VIDEO]

Working toward opening the Grand Bohemian Mountain Brook was like his wife being pregnant, General Manager Thomas Hoffman said.

“Obviously you’re very excited initially, right? You never know when the due date is because it’s always a moving target,” Hoffman said. “And in the end, when you’re really close to it, you’re just ready to give birth.”

At the grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Grand Bohemian on Friday, Oct. 23, Hoffman addressed a crowd of city officials, residents and partners in the project. While there are still some final touches on the hotel, Hoffman said he is proud of the end result.

“I think we have a beautiful child, as you would agree, and it’s certainly my favorite child in the collection,” Hoffman said.

The $35 million boutique hotel is located in Lane Parke, and it is the 11th hotel in the Kessler Collection. The Kessler Collection’s chairman and CEO, Richard Kessler, said the hotel’s design is inspired by the hotel’s surroundings, including the Birmingham Botanical Gardens and Birmingham Zoo.

“It has a nature theme running all the way through it, from butterflies and flowers, and obviously showing respect to the gardens that are across the street,” Kessler said.

The gallery carries this theme, including paintings of flowers, butterflies and animals. There are also smaller touches throughout the hotel, including ironwork with vines, carpets with enlarged butterfly wings and centerpieces that were designed by Leaf & Petal.

Kessler and his adult children worked together on the hotel’s design, drawing in a few personal touches such as Kessler’s favorite colors – purple and red.

For Clif Holt, chef of the Grand Bohemian’s cooking school, his kitchen is a source of motivation. He said his equipment and the fact that the colors step away from the usual beiges and browns are the things at the hotel to which he looks forward.

“Every day I walk in and see something different,” Holt said. “It’s very inspiring.”

Planning and building the hotel was about a four-year process, Kessler said, and he thanked the mayors of Mountain Brook and Birmingham for their help and cooperation throughout the journey. Mountain Brook Mayor Terry Oden said he was proud to welcome the Grand Bohemian into the city.

“I know Robert Jemison, who is the founder of Mountain Brook, would be proud to see his vision of Mountain Brook continue to flourish and come to life in this beautiful property,” Oden said.

The hotel will employ between 150 and 175 people, Kessler said, and will help generate income for the city of Mountain Brook and the greater Birmingham area. Because of its amenities, which include a spa, wine-blending room, cooking school, restaurant, meeting space and a ballroom, as Kessler said the Grand Bohemian takes on the feel of a entertainment center instead of just a hotel.

Oden said he believes the Grand Bohemian will bring more people into Mountain Brook and hopefully help the local economy as well.

“The Grand Bohemian will not only be a game-changer, but it will be a sea-changer for the commercial and tourism interest in Mountain Brook, the local economy,” Oden said, “and it will also have a profound impact, we believe, on the tourism industry in the state of Alabama.”