Now accepting reservations: The Woodward Hotel will open soon in downtown Macon

Becky Purser

Steps away from shops, dining, live music, theater and more, The Woodward Hotel is gearing up to open just in time for fall and holiday getaways in downtown Macon.

The nine-room boutique hotel on the corner of Second Street and Mulberry Street Lane is now accepting reservations with rooms available beginning Sept. 3.

To stay in one of the unique rooms of this literature-inspired, locally owned hotel will cost between $220-$275 a night before taxes and other fees, according to online rates on the hotel’s website as of Tuesday.

While this renovated gem of history is expected to open to the general public in just a couple of weeks, this also fully modernized hotel welcomes its first guests next week for the 2022 Georgia Downtown Conference hosted by the Georgia Downtown Association. The conference is expected to attract nearly 200 downtown professionals, according to the GDA.

Others, including the Otis Redding family, already have been treated to a sneak peek.

The first record The Woodward Hotel has of the building that it calls home is based on an 1855 ad in The Telegraph for hatmaker Sarah Audouin’s Millinery and Fancy Goods Shop that was on the first floor, the hotel posted on its Facebook page.

This new nine room boutique hotel at the corner of Second Street and Mulberry Street Lane is gearing up to open in historic downtown Macon. The hotel is also home to Quill, a new craft cocktail bar off Mulberry Street Lane.
This new nine room boutique hotel at the corner of Second Street and Mulberry Street Lane is gearing up to open in historic downtown Macon. The hotel is also home to Quill, a new craft cocktail bar off Mulberry Street Lane.

Attention to detail

Hotel guests can expect much attention paid to detail from curated selections of Southern literature available in every room to designer furniture and linens to Maline+Goetz toiletries, according to a news release from the Moonhanger Group.

The hotel at 350 Second St. is a partnership between the Moonhanger Group and NewTown Macon. The Moonhanger Group is the parent company of the Rookery, Dovetail, H&H, The Hargray Capitol Theatre, Grant’s Lounge and Natalia’s. NewTown Macon is a nonprofit, public-private partnership geared toward downtown development.

The contactless check-in and check-out hotel is also home to Quill, a new craft cocktail bar off Mulberry Street Lane. The ground-floor interior includes a marble bar, wood ceiling and leather, tweed and velvet seating, according to the release.

The bar offers a rooftop patio. Two of the hotel rooms open onto a balcony overlooking the patio.

Cocktails are literature-themed such as “The Marshes of Glynn,” a nod to a poem by Sidney Lanier who was inspired by the marshes along the Golden Isles of Georgia.

This new nine room boutique hotel at the corner of Second Street and Mulberry Street Lane is gearing up to open in historic downtown Macon. The hotel is also home to Quill, a new craft cocktail bar off Mulberry Street Lane.
This new nine room boutique hotel at the corner of Second Street and Mulberry Street Lane is gearing up to open in historic downtown Macon. The hotel is also home to Quill, a new craft cocktail bar off Mulberry Street Lane.

Namesake

The namesake of the hotel is the late Benjamin Woodward Griffith Jr., a celebrated English professor at Mercer University and West Georgia College and grandfather of hotel proprietor and Moonhanger group owner Wes Griffith.

“He was an inspiration to me,” said Griffith, who aims to keep the memory and passion of his grandfather alive through the hotel. “I just think he would be tickled to know that I did kind of a literary-inspired hotel with his family name in it. I know he would be honored and tickled.”

Griffith Jr., who specialized in the field of 19th Century English literature, was a close friend of the late author Flannery O’Connor. He was also a prolific writer, author and decorated U.S. Navy lieutenant who served in World War II.

The hotel features works by O’Connor, Lanier, Tennessee Williams, Alice Walker, John Oliver Killens and others who are believed to have had close ties to Macon.

Quill, a new craft cocktail bar off Mulberry Street Lane, is tucked behind and is part of The Woodward Hotel, a new nine room boutique hotel at the corner of Second Street and Mulberry Street Lane. The Woodward Hotel and Quill are opening soon.
Quill, a new craft cocktail bar off Mulberry Street Lane, is tucked behind and is part of The Woodward Hotel, a new nine room boutique hotel at the corner of Second Street and Mulberry Street Lane. The Woodward Hotel and Quill are opening soon.

In the heart of downtown

The new boutique hotel will be the second hotel to open in the heart of downtown this year.

In February, the 94-room boutique Hotel Forty Five opened at 401 Cotton Ave. in a renovated 11-story historic building with three dine and drink options: Loom, a chef-driven restaurant, Hightales Rooftop Bar on the sixth floor and Reckon Coffee & Wine Bar.

A study commissioned by Visit Macon shows that downtown Macon can easily absorb 1,000 hotel rooms.

“Between our robust calendar of concerts at our eight theaters and venues, 54 locally-owned restaurants and vibrant nightlife, downtown is a desirable destination for an overnight stay,” reads a post on NewTown Macon’s website. “The Woodward Hotel helps meet the need for more hotel rooms and will offer guests a truly unique experience.”

Quill, a new craft cocktail bar off Mulberry Street Lane, is tucked behind and is part of The Woodward Hotel, a new nine room boutique hotel at the corner of Second Street and Mulberry Street Lane. The Woodward Hotel and Quill are opening soon.
Quill, a new craft cocktail bar off Mulberry Street Lane, is tucked behind and is part of The Woodward Hotel, a new nine room boutique hotel at the corner of Second Street and Mulberry Street Lane. The Woodward Hotel and Quill are opening soon.
This new nine room boutique hotel at the corner of Second Street and Mulberry Street Lane is gearing up to open in historic downtown Macon. The hotel is also home to Quill, a new craft cocktail bar off Mulberry Street Lane.
This new nine room boutique hotel at the corner of Second Street and Mulberry Street Lane is gearing up to open in historic downtown Macon. The hotel is also home to Quill, a new craft cocktail bar off Mulberry Street Lane.
This new nine room boutique hotel at the corner of Second Street and Mulberry Street Lane is gearing up to open in historic downtown Macon. The hotel is also home to Quill, a new craft cocktail bar off Mulberry Street Lane.
This new nine room boutique hotel at the corner of Second Street and Mulberry Street Lane is gearing up to open in historic downtown Macon. The hotel is also home to Quill, a new craft cocktail bar off Mulberry Street Lane.

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