The New Highlander Hotel

Colleges across the country and state are investing in hotels on their campuses. Virginia Tech, James Madison University, and University of Virginia are a few. Now, Radford University is following in their footsteps to bring the Highlander Hotel to life.

John Cox, CEO of the Radford University Foundation, says the project has been in the works for four years. With the help of hundreds of people and organizations, three RU presidents, Brian Hemphill, Lepre, and Danilowicz all were contributors to this expansive project.

A grand entrance greets visitors with light blue colored walls and red accents to show Highlander Pride. To the left is a Radford University welcome center with a photo of a birds-eye view of campus shot on a drone. Each guest room is elegantly decorated; there are even motion sensored lights under the beds in-case you have to get up in the middle of the night.

The hotel has two restaurants, a cafe and a rooftop restaurant and bar. The cafe will have light grab and go food and will accept Radford University Onecard for students. The rooftop restaurant will serve food that is an experience in itself.

Cox states how proud he is of the team for pushing through and being able to continue work on the hotel during COVID. Everyone involved in the hotel build wondered if the world shutting down would derail the project. But it didn’t.

“We were quite pleased that we were able to pull this off under such challenging times,” Cox says.

When the idea came about in late 2019, all the contributors knew that Radford needed the hotel. The hotel is a draw for people to come to the community. The facilities like the ballroom, and the restaurants will bring more people into the City and will help bring more people into other businesses as well. This project will hopefully kickstart other forms of development for the city.

As for the university, it will be a showpiece. When families come into town for commencement, alumni or move-in weekends, they can stay right across the street from campus. The hotel will provide a space for events to be held for the university and the city.

“We think that it will be a positive motivator for people to attend Radford University,” says Cox.

The hotel team has partnered with the Radford University Art Department, to showcase Radford’s talented artists. A mural will be painted on the wall of the top floor entrance to the restaurant.

The Radford University Foundation owns a substantial art collection on behalf of the university and they do not have enough space on campus to display it all. The hotel will be displaying north of 40 pieces of art in the hotel. The pieces will be rotated out over time with the help of the art museum and art department.

“There are a lot of moving parts for a project of this magnitude and everyone collectively pulled together and made this happen,” says Cox

The new hotel will be a crown jewel for Radford University. It is set to open in time for Radford University’s Spring Commencement.