VERSAILLES — Hotel Versailles prepares to offer a piece of history with modern dining.
Construction on Hotel Versailles began in 2020 after a kitchen fire left the historic Inn at Versailles heavily damaged and closed for business in 2019. Historically, there has been a hotel on the site for over 150 years, and as plans for the project continued, names in history became a prominent topic.
“Hotel Versailles, obviously we are in Versailles,” Managing Director, Jack Olshan said. “The hotel that was here previously was called the Inn at Versailles (Vr-sai), but we are in Versailles, so we changed it.”
Not only was the name changed to fit the town, but the accommodations were as well. The new hotel will offer more room options for guests including spa and suit options. For those who stayed at the Inn at Versailles in the past or in Versailles in general know how busy the nearby railroad track is, being only a few feet from the entrance.
Production managers at the Hotel Versailles took matters into their own hands to ensure the busy street and tracks below would not distract customers from a peaceful experience in what Olshan deems as their “anything but standard rooms”.
“There is a lot of truck traffic on this road, and we wanted to make sure that this was as peaceful of a space as possible,” Olshan said. “We went the extra mile and put these amazing windows in. Between you and the outside is seven panes of glass, so it is really very peaceful.”
The hotel is accommodatable down to the small details including an individual WiFi router in each room, so each room has their own WiFi signal. The hotel also offers an open check in system using a phone in order to bypass the front desk. The mini fridges inside the hotel will be stocked with products from local companies and vendors, as Hotel Versailles wanted to maintain the local feel and theme throughout all of their amenities.
Those planning the project believed it was important to not only make the name relevant to the town and incorporate local businesses, but they felt the need to incorporate the history into the structure as well.
“Silas, our restaurant, was named after Silas Atchison who founded Versailles. Funny enough, when he moved out west for the gold rush, he actually opened a hotel in California,” Olshan said.
Ken Demange, director of corporate communications with Midmark, continued to state Atchison was the first to open a hotel in both the Versailles and California areas.
The Silas Creative Kitchen will provide a fresh and unexpected dining as the kitchen has an open concept. Dinners can watch as meals are prepared and get a feel for the hard work that goes into creating artistic dishes.
“It will be an experience piece for the guests as well to be able to get the sights, sounds, and smells from the kitchen,” Executive Chef Aaron Allen said.
Allen is a local chef who originated in Dayton before traveling his way around working in Texas, L.A., and New York, gained experience and training before making his way back to Versailles. He said the goal was to always come back this way, but he didn’t know it would be this close to Dayton.
“I could have never told you five years ago that I would have made it back here,” Allen said.
The food in the hotel much like the amenities and designs are all locally sourced out of Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. Katie Bensman is the local Farmer for the hotel, and Allen claims what she is growing here is better than what was grown in Texas.
“She is such an asset to this, and I think a big part of the story as well,” Allen said.
Guests can experience the local foods in the hotel’s lounge and dining areas, or via hosting an event in the 1819 room, as all events held at the 1819 Room are catered by the hotel’s own restaurant, Silas. As given to the historical theme of the Hotel, the 1819 room is representative of the year Versailles was founded.
“It’s a complete story,” Demange said.
The 1819 room will offer seating for 200 guests, space for large events, has state-of-the-art audiovisual capabilities, a built-in bar, coat check, an infant care room, and a private courtyard. The Hotel even has a partnership with a company who has made custom tents for the courtyard to ensure bad weather does not prohibit the makings of a beautiful event. The venue is made for wedding parties of all sizes to have a place cater to their needs.
“Our niche is being a one stop shop. We’re the caterer, bartender, we supply the furniture, and we supply the linens, servers, and there are not a lot of options in this region that are a one stop shop for weddings or even corporate events,” Olshan said.
Hotel Versailles will host a ribbon cutting ceremony on Tuesday, May 24, at 10 a.m. to signify the opening of the Hotel.
For more information about Hotel Versailles or to seek availability visit hotelversaillesohio.com.
