Downtown Raleigh’s most iconic building is entering a new era. Originally slated for demolition, the affectionately dubbed “hair curler” got a chance at a second life after it was acquired by Tidal Real Estate Partners in 2021. And come October, the longtime landmark will reopen as a 204-room boutique Hotel Indigo following a $36 million renovation that honors its backstory while bringing it firmly into the present.
While the former round Holiday Inn’s exterior was preserved to a tee from its original 1969 design, every aspect of the interior will be almost unrecognizable—from the parking deck to the lobby and guest rooms to the 20th-floor bar.
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“It’s quite a specific building, with a lot of idiosyncrasies,” maintains Tidal Principal Eyal Einik. “And what we tried to do is explore ways to promote them and have them come through in the design while at the same time bringing everything in the interior up to what a modern traveler would be looking for.”
Crowning the renovation is the new public-facing 20th-floor cocktail bar and gathering space managed by Denver-based Sage Hospitality Group—which will dish food, including breakfast, and local brews—plus a private dining area and flexible event space, all serving up views unlike anything else in the city. And while Tidal toyed with the idea of making the space into a larger restaurant, notes Einik, keeping the event venue was an important decision for both the hotel and the community.
“Talking to folks that have lived in Raleigh for a long time, the story more often than not was something like ‘I had my prom up there,’ or ‘I went to a friend’s wedding up there,’” he reflects. “We just felt like we couldn’t lose that.”
But how you pull up has gotten a modern upgrade. Rather than arriving by car via the ’60s drive-up entrance, the lobby is reconfigured to open up onto Hillsborough Street, with guests entering through a striking glass entrance—while parking will now be valet only. A new lush courtyard with seating will give both guests and locals another place to linger—think local vendors slinging drinks from an Airstream in the summertime and other events.
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Einik reassures that though the inside of the hotel has been dramatically transformed, it will still be very much Raleigh—bringing the icon into the modern era while still nodding to its OG flair. “The location is a pillar of the brand,” he says, also noting that it won’t just be a pastiche of what a 1960s hotel is.
You’ll see those idiosyncrasies in the furniture, which echo the original design; the new coffered ceiling referencing the building’s architecture; and geometric patterns in carpeting that speak to the organization of the rooms—in addition to a largely locally rooted art program (see sidebar) and pantry featuring local vendors.
“The goal was to bring as much of Raleigh into the hotel and let the building speak for itself,” emphasizes Einik. “We just tried to pick out little moments that let design decisions influenced by the hotel, the city and the neighborhood float through.”
The result is a hotel that feels familiar and entirely new at the same time—preserving what Raleigh loved about the landmark while reimagining nearly everything else. And with Hotel Indigo’s primo location in one of DTR’s most rapidly changing corridors, the hotel is poised to become a destination once again.
“Every bit of that building has been reimagined,” reiterates Einik, “and we’re just really excited to share that with everyone and see how surprised everybody is going to be when they walk through those front doors.”
House Guests
From guest rooms to public spaces, Hotel Indigo’s art collection is almost entirely homegrown. Meet a few of the NC artists checking in.
Guest Rooms:
Josie George (Elkin)
Skillet Gilmore (Raleigh)
Jeiel Shamblee (Wake Forest)
Public Spaces:
Caitlin Cary (Raleigh)
Darrell Dean (Winston-Salem)
Gabe Fonorow (Kernersville)
Katie Hatfield (Durham)
Micah Mullen (Raleigh)
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Timeline
Full Circle
1969: Raleigh’s iconic round Holiday Inn opens
2000s–early 2010s: The DTR fixture operated as a Clarion Hotel
2012: A Miami developer renovated the hotel and brought it back under Holiday Inn management.
2021: Tidal Real Estate Partners acquires the property, initially planning to demolish it.
June 2025: Tidal pivots its plans, saving the structure and converting it into a Hotel Indigo.
Dec. 2025: The building is officially designated a historic landmark.
Downtown Raleigh’s hotel game is leveling up. Enter Raleigh hospitality titan Souheil Al-awar’s yet-to-be-named boutique Blount Street hotel, breaking ground this spring and set to debut about a year and a half thereafter. Approved by City Council last summer, the project will boast ~90 boutique rooms across ~seven stories—plus a local-leaning ground-floor restaurant and rooftop restaurant and bar.
“I hear people dismissing Downtown like it’s kind of done,” says the local developer, architect, and Clockwork + The Saint townhomes owner. “That’s such a wrong statement to me because you can never get the feeling of a downtown anywhere else.”
Bookending DTR opposite Longleaf on the northern end, the hotel’s first three stories will match the height of adjacent Prince Hall Masonic Lodge—with much of its facade echoing the hall’s signature red brick.
Beyond the edifice, “I want to give it an interior and a feel that is really original,” he adds. “A lot of hotels are becoming very generic—if you’ve been to one, you’ve been to many. So you have to also give it that feel of hominess—like you’re home when you get there.”
Rooted in Raleigh’s storied history while taking cues from distinctive downtowns like Charleston, the project promises a blend of authenticity and modern flair, reflecting a contemporary European aesthetic that will “thoughtfully integrate the character and history of the Prince Hall neighborhood,” muses Al-awar.
For the F&B-, design- and architecture-minded Al-awar, it’s another “very Raleigh” concept—one that adds a fresh chapter to a historic pocket of DTR. “I really want to do something very specific and very Raleigh at the same time,” he states—“make a splash, make it a destination.”
And there’s no doubt it will. The boutique stay is poised to draw both out-of-towners and locals back into the heart of the city. So, time to check into Raleigh’s next chapter.
“I want to lure people to come into Raleigh—and hospitality would be very important for that. I think Downtown will definitely come back and will come back strong. And I really want to be there for it when it happens.” —SOUHEIL AL-AWAR
Downtown Raleigh’s iconic round Holiday Inn’s future has been resurrected. Once sentenced to demolition with a sleek Kimpton on deck to replace it, the circa-1969 era-defining pillar is now closed to prep for a late 2026-slated Hotel Indigo revamp at the hands of NYC-based Tidal Real Estate Partners.
With construction set to start soon, the renovation will see a rebirth of what is arguably the most polarizing landmark in Raleigh’s lore. But love it or loathe it, it is inarguably one that, when set for demolition, saw more public outcry than any structure’s controversial fate in recent history.
Now fenced and preparing for new life, the revered retreat’s OG furniture and interiors have been hauled out. And with a rendering still in progress, Raleighites wait with bated breath to see what this modern moment will hold for the famed “hair curler”—think plans for a renovated ground-floor lounge, top-floor bar and event space with primo city views, and an updated guest experience blending Raleigh’s signature creative energy and Southern charm.
Just its third NC outpost—joining Asheville and Winston-Salem—IHG’s swanky Hotel Indigo brand blends boutique vibes with intentional design and experiences inspired by the local scene. And round hotels are nothing new to the hotelier, who counts among its portfolio such curved hospitality heavyweights as Hotel Indigo Taipei North in Taiwan and the UK’s Hotel Indigo Manchester. Similar to Raleigh’s scenario, the latter laid-back boho boutique rescued a historic Victorian building from ruin while adding on an adjoining modern 14-story rotunda tower, blending the old and new in a one-of-a-kind design that preserved the neighborhood’s history while breathing in new life.
Tidal President Ken Copeland frames the vision for DTR’s own 204-room Hotel Indigo as both bold and nostalgic, saying they’re “excited to bring Downtown Raleigh the true lifestyle boutique hotel it deserves… by restoring an iconic Raleigh landmark into the modern era.”
One Congress & State Street | Photo courtesy of John Moriarty & AssociatesHotel Indigo Manchester | Photo courtesy of Bowmer + Kirkland
Also known for its upscale developments, Tidal’s esteemed roster boasts such standouts as Nashville’s posh soaring residential and retail high-rise 1111 Church and Savannah’s dramatic and distinctive Perry Lane Hotel. On the local front, the real estate developer scooped up 1.3 prime acres of land in the Warehouse District in 2022 for just shy of $21 mill, at the time zoned for up to 40 stories—though no further plans have since been released.
Teaming up to lead the charge is local general contractor John Moriarty & Associates—no stranger to circular constructs, having helmed Charlotte’s glass-wrapped Ascent Uptown, a 33-story ellipse that similarly made a bold architectural statement on the city’s skyline. The Moriarty team is joined by Nashville-based architecture firm ESa—who also partnered on Music City tower 1111 Church, with a résumé that includes 2024-debuted Tempo by Hilton Nashville Downtown and Virginia’s award-winning The Bristol Hotel, to name but a few. Now, let the Raleigh fixture’s long-awaited glow-up begin.
