VHG opens debut Kinley lifestyle hotel

THE DEBUT PROPERTY of Vision Hospitality Group’s (VHG) lifestyle The Tribute Portfolio, the Kinley Cincinnati Downtown, is now open in Cincinnati, Ohio. Two more are planned to follow in Vision Hospitality’s hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and in Louisville, Kentucky.

The 94-room hotel is in the city’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood with nearby attractions including the William Howard Taft National Historic Site, the Cincinnati Art Museum and Cincinnati Music Hall.  Vision Hospitality, led by Mitch Patel as CEO, renovated the historic Denton Building, constructed in 1916 by Cincinnati architect Alfred Oscar Elzner, to house the hotel.

Kinley Cincinnati Downtown décor features artwork showing local history local art pieces curated in partnership with the Cincinnati Art Underground. It includes the restored mural “Allegro” painted by artist Barron Krody for the 1971 series entitled Urban Walls: Cincinnati.

Other features include the contactless “uncheck-in” desk, a ground floor lobby bar called The Exchange and a restaurant, Khora, featuring a locally sourced pasta-driven menu. Khora is overseen by Cincinnati native Chef Kevin Ashworth and James Beard Foundation Award winner Chef Edward Lee.

The new hotel also features a fitness with Peloton fitness equipment. The name for the brand, Kinley, is derived from the terms kinship and “sincerely yours.”

“Kinley is bringing the hotel experience back to the root of what makes traveling such a desirable pastime – engaging in the community you’ve come to explore, and connecting with yourself,” Patel said.

Vision Hospitality broke ground for the 64-room Kinley Chattanooga Southside in downtown Chattanooga in January. It is expected to open in 2021 near the Chattanooga Choo Choo and the Songbirds Guitar Museum and also will feature works of local artists, a coffee bar and an “uncheck-in desk.”

Another Kinley is planned for Louisville, Kentucky, in the 51-room luxury boutique Grady Hotel, named after local journalist and proponent of New Urbanism Grady Clay.

Vision Hospitality launched the Kinley brand in 2018, originally as part of the Humanist portfolio.

“Humanist is bringing the hotel experience back to the root of what makes traveling such a desirable pastime – connecting with other travelers, connecting with the community you’ve come to explore, and connecting with yourself,” Patel said at that time.