Hotel Elevation to open in Montgomery, blending history with high-end experience
Tourists visiting downtown Montgomery will soon have a new place to stay that combines history with thoughtful luxury.
The Elevation Convening Center and Hotel, set to open Oct. 1, was developed by the Equal Justice Initiative and will serve as a companion to the organization’s three Legacy sites.
EJI founder and executive director Bryan Stevenson said the name Elevation was chosen to reflect the hotel’s mission as much as its location.
“The name was really designed to represent the goal of our sites and of what we’re trying to do here in the community, which is just to lift the community up — to get us above the conflict and division and the fear and the anger and the bigotry, to get us above the history that sometimes holds us back,” Stevenson said.
The project transformed the former Hilltop Arms Apartments, built in the 1950s, into a modern hotel and convening space. Its name also nods to the building’s original identity, perched on one of the highest points in Montgomery.
“From our eighth floor of our hotel, you’ll be able to see across the entire city,” Stevenson said.
Stevenson added that Elevation is designed to give visitors a deeper connection to the history presented at EJI’s Legacy Museum, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, and Freedom Monument Sculpture Park.
“When people stay in the hotel, we’re hoping it’s a space that facilitates kind of a lifting up, allowing us to have conversations and discourse and connections. We see the space as really a place for people to have a more immersive experience,” he said. “It’s challenging, but it’s designed to inspire people, to lift people up, to help people understand that we can confront our past and imagine a better future.”
The restaurant at Elevation is described as “soulful dining” and a “refined tribute to Black Southern cuisine.” In the library, guests will be able to watch powerful films and see archival footage of pivotal moments in Black history. The 200 person Mountaintop Ballroom and other meeting spaces makes an ideal location for meaningful business conferences and other events.
Some of the hotel’s first guests will include world-renowned musicians Branford Marsalis and Yo-Yo Ma, who will perform a special concert Oct. 11 at the Peace and Justice Memorial Center. Tickets are available at eji.org.
You can make reservations or find out more about Elevation Convening Center and Hotel here.
