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.
As developers snag property in DTR, small businesses are being displaced.
Let us take you back in time. … It’s 2022, and Tidal Real Estate Partners just snatched up a Warehouse District plot in one of the then-most expensive real estate deals in the city. The 1.3-acre corner property at South Harrington and West Davie streets (think the now-relocated Raleigh Founded, Circa 1888 dive, etc.), is zoned for 40 stories, and the NY-based firm promises big plans for later the same year.
Hype built, businesses uprooted—and for what? Fast-forward, and the buildings sit untouched. The only difference: a mostly vacant block, rumors, renderings and unanswered questions. Not the first or last developer to overcommit and underdeliver, it’s becoming a common phenomenon around Raleigh.
Nearby, Goodnights Comedy Club’s famed move was spurred by the purchase and demolition of its former digs on Morgan Street. The lot still sits empty, and although property owner/real estate firm Childress Klein maintains the original plans for a multifamily development are still stable, the project is on pause thanks to rampant construction costs.
“Cost has moderated a bit, but recent urban multifamily deliveries have hurt occupancies and depressed rental rates,” Childress Klein Partner Randy Bates tells RM. “We will look to start construction as soon as the supply issues turn around.”
In an ideal world for developers, other local apartment buildings will fill, rent prices will rise and construction costs will fall. But, Bates says, they can’t predict when that will happen—although they hope it’s this year.
Original Morgan Street project rendering
Despite receiving the boot, Brad Grossman, COO of Helium Comedy—the operator behind Goodnights—told RM although displacement was difficult, the end result was favorable, and the developers were supportive in helping the club find the best path forward. “Business has been positive, and it allowed us to reinvent our space,” he affirms.
Adding to the list, Legends’ OG home—where the nightclub currently resides before moving down the street—was purchased by CityPlat in 2020. Now on a long-term pause, the project initially called for a 30-story mixed-use tower. In the interim, insider sources tell RM that new food and beverage concepts are likely headed to the Warehouse District site after Legends moves later this year.
Instead of waiting for the inevitable, MMA gym Gracie Raleigh chose to uproot shortly after Tidal secured the Warehouse District plot in 2022. While the developer didn’t outright force out businesses—Circa 1888 still occupies the Davie Street dead end—they raised rent and shifted tenants to month-to-month leases amid uncertainty around construction plans.
“I didn’t feel safe with the month-to-month terms because it can take three or four months just to find a space, and then another six to go through permitting,” Gracie owner Brandon Garner tells RM. The construction timeline was murky then—and years later, little clarity has emerged (Tidal did not respond to our request for comment).
Just a few blocks away, the beloved Berkeley Cafe served up sandwiches and live music in its West Martin Street digs for over 40 years, until the One Nash Square condominium project prompted the restaurant to revise plans in late 2023. Now, Berkeley sits close by on South Dawson—while the original site sits untouched and Berkeley’s OG three-story building still stands. Laura Strelau, a broker with Urban Triangle Realty, says the condo project is set to break ground at the end of this year.
For businesses, new ownership brings uncertainty at best, panic at worst. For developers, the math has to work—and until it does, some of Raleigh’s most valuable blocks sit frozen in limbo, all cracked concrete, empty storefronts and faded promises.
Despite this, most businesses don’t hold grudges. “This is a natural cycle of growth, and developers aren’t to blame for the demise of small businesses or anything,” emphasizes Garner. But for now, in some of Raleigh’s fastest-growing corridors, the future remains stuck in demo mode.
Get this. We heard—and then confirmed—that the round Holiday Inn that has sat famously as a Raleigh landmark on Hillsborough Street in DTR since 1969 (and was sold to Tidal Real Estate Partners in November) will likely be a swanky Kimpton Hotel (the nation’s first boutique hotel and restaurant company in the States), landing Raleigh its first national boutique hotel. With suite spots already situated in Asheville, Charlotte and Winston-Salem, this marks the hip hotelier’s premiere location in central NC—and fourth in the great North State. Welcome to Raleighwood. We know, we know. You want to know if it’ll retain its famous cylindrical shape. We don’t know that yet—but stay tuned.
