BATON ROUGE, La. – Origin Hotel Baton Rouge, a Wyndham hotel, opened recently following an extensive transformation.
Located downtown in a historic 68-year-old building, the new boutique lifestyle hotel features 87 rooms, a rooftop deck with a bird’s eye view of the downtown area, an all-day Cajun-Creole restaurant, the Sweet Baton Rouge retail, and a rotating calendar of events.
“We are thrilled to join the Baton Rouge community by providing an authentic and engaging hospitality experience to locals and travelers alike,” says Jacob Van Winkles, president of Tandem Hospitality Group.“Baton Rouge is the bustling epicenter of southern Louisiana with various historic attractions, arts and culture, and year-round events. Our hope is to create a gathering place where people can feel in tune with each other and the surrounding environment, becoming a portal into the local scene.”
Listed in the city’s National Register of Historic Places, the five-story hotel was originally the Baton Rouge Savings & Loan Association, opened in 1955, before reopening as the East Baton Rouge Arts and Technology School. The hotel’s history inspired Ferriss & Company, the design studio behind the transformation, which blended its original influences with new age mid-century modern elements and deep jewel tones, creating warm and inviting spaces.
Guest rooms feature décor like classic bankers’ lamps and leather-trimmed headboards as well as tiger-patterned wallpaper, a reference to Louisiana State University. Wall-to-wall windows overlook the city’s canopy of live oaks, while in-room amenities include a Nespresso coffee machine, mini-fridge, and a freshly made praline welcome treat (a local favorite).
In addition to a 24/7 fitness center and private rooftop deck, the top floor also features suites like the Bunk Suite, which sleeps up to eight people with two bedrooms, including a king bed and four twin bunk beds as well as a spacious living area with a sleeper sofa and fully furnished balcony. The hotel has two additional specialty bunk rooms, inspired by LSU alumni Joe Burrow and Pete Maravich, with their photos adorning the walls, which sleep up to six people with a king bed and four twin bunk beds.
The hotel’s all-day café Passé features the flavors of south Louisiana with breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus that dive into Cajun-Creole classics with a French-inspired twist.
Suitable for corporate retreats and intimate social events, the hotel’s 1,740 square feet of meeting and event space includes the lobby-adjacent Payne meeting room, designed for small to mid-sized events for up to 50 guests; the Bon Temps private dining room within Passé for luncheons, dinners, and parties for up to 25 guests; and Eye in the Sky roof deck private event space with a built-in bar and a bird’s eye view of Tiger Stadium for up to 35 guests.
