Walking into the
Market Pavilion Hotel is like taking a step back into history.
Reminiscent of the grand hotel era between the 1880s and 1920s, this
downtown Charleston, SC hotel has all the classic touches. There are
ornate alabaster chandeliers, heavy crown molding, rich dark mahogany
walls, black and white marble flooring and a distinct feel of bygone
glamour days.
Funny thing though, while it’s steeped in historical elegance, the
Market Pavilion is just under four years old. The brainchild of the
Palassis family, bringing this hotel to life was fraught with many
challenges. Seven years and $22 million later, the family managed to
successfully wend their way through a maze of historical societies,
regulations and a host of construction challenges to bring the four
diamond rated hotel to life.
“When we built this hotel it wasn’t ready for a luxury property
that provided the services and price we were charging,” said Elaina
Palassis England, who serves as the property’s director of sales and
marketing, who noted the property gets an average ADR of $425.. “But
everyday Charleston is changing and becoming more cosmopolitan.”
In the hotel business for 70 years, the property is considered the
Palassis family’s crowning achievement. Elaina’s father Jim is in charge
of finance and development while her brother Nicholas is the family’s
managing director. The family also owns another three hotels and four
restaurants in the region, including a Hampton Inn which is rated in the
top 10 percent of the system.
The fourth generation Palssis in the hotel business, England said
the genesis of the Market Pavilion concept actually stretches back to
1993 and the road to opening day was long and fraught with some massive
and unexpected challenges.
The hotel stands on the site of some former structures that were
destroyed by hurricanes and fires and needed extensive excavations in
order to clear room for the hotel. The corner itself is of significant
historical value – a challenge most developers face in the nation’s
oldest city – so it took five years alone to simply get the necessary
approvals to move the project forward. One condition was the building
had to fit into the character of the neighborhood, which helped define
the hotel’s French influenced boutique feel. In fact, the property is
located just blocks from the city’s historic French Quarter.
Once construction began, pilings for the hotel were drilled 100
feet below ground since most of the land in this area of Charleston is
either landfill or loose earth. The Market Pavilion hotel itself sits on
an area that used to be a river and water can be found just four feet
below the hotel’s lobby.
The building
is mostly constructed from steel, stucco and imported Chinese granite. Foot
thick walls ensure the structure can handle winds of more than 250 miles per
hour.
“Our neighbors couldn’t imagine we started a project like this. We
created it all from the ground up. My mom even stained the mahogany and designed
the interiors,” said England, who noted the hotel has a 21st century
technological infrastructure.
In today’s dollars, England said the 66-room hotel would cost $50
million to build today. The hotel, which is shoehorned into a .42 acre parcel
maximizes every inch. Yet rooms are still on average 450 square feet. The
presidential suite checks in at 2,000 square feet.
The hotel’s staff of 125 is highly trained for customer service and
meticulous records are kept to ensure each guest’s needs are anticipated and
exceeded. To make sure guest preferences are adhered to, a daily meeting
discussing each arrival in detail is had at 5pm every day.
“We make sure we know Mr. Smith likes his steak medium rare and
what kind of wine he drinks, but it takes constant communication with the staff,
said England. After dinner, for example, servers fill out forms to let
management better understand the unique desires of their guests. The hotel also
creates relationship trees, so the staff can track relationships between guests.
Currently the property charges an average of $425 per night and its rooftop bar
has become one of the coolest places in the city to meet.
Glenn
Haussman, Hotel Interactive's Editor In Chief, has been specializing
in the hospitality industry for more than 10 years. He often speaks
at lodging industry events, is quoted frequently as an expert source
by newspapers and is an adjunct professor at New York University.
