A historic building in downtown Frederick, Maryland, which served as a Catholic girls school and a convent, reopens this week as Frederick’s first new hotel in more than 50 years.
Celebrity chef and Frederick native Bryan Voltaggio is in charge of the hotel’s restaurant.
Visitation Hotel is named after the Visitation Academy, the boarding school that called the building home from 1846 until it closed in 2016. It was also a convent for nuns, who cared for Civil War soldiers there.
Visitation Hotel is part of Marriott’s Tribute Portfolio of boutique hotels.
The transformation from a girls school to hotel was the work OTJ Architects, and of real estate developer John O’Hare, who has revitalized historic properties throughout the region, including in Baltimore’s Fells Point, downtown Annapolis, and Lewes, Delaware.
“It’s a passion of mine to bring a new life to spaces that have contributed so much to the surrounding historic districts,” O’Hare said. “And with Visitation, it is no different. The girls school and convent at Visitation played such a meaningful role in the history of downtown Frederick, and with our adaptive reuse, we hope that Visitation Hotel Frederick will be a huge part of Frederick’s future.”
Renovations and construction began in 2022.
The 65-room hotel includes a bridal suite. The school’s former auditorium is now a large event venue. The former chapel is now Voltaggio’s restaurant, Wye Oak Tavern. Voltaggio’s celebrity chef brother Michael is consulting on the food and beverage menus.
The restaurant includes an old church organ and a bar between stained glass windows.
There is also a cafe run by the Voltaggios named Acorn that serves breakfast, coffee and light fare throughout the day.
There are historic artifacts found during construction and renovation that are on display throughout the hotel, including in guest rooms.
Room rates displayed on the hotel’s website for this upcoming weekend were as low as $166 a night. The hotel is at 211 E Church St. in Frederick.
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