Jeremy Buffam and Julian Buffam—partners at hotel investment, development and management company New Castle Hotels & Resorts—have reopened the 55-room LaSalle Hotel in Bryan, Texas, following a multimillion-dollar renovation. Built in 1928, the hotel is in downtown Bryan, a recognized Texas Cultural District and sister city to College Station, home of Texas A&M University. The LaSalle also is joining the Marriott Tribute Portfolio soft brand.
The renovation is a nod to the influence of the railroad in establishing the city as the epicenter of Texas’ five major metropolitan areas: Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio. The area’s history is reflected in the 1920s aesthetic and dining-car decor in the hotel’s lobby-level restaurant Station 36; a covered, outdoor event space called The Platform; and the hotel’s subterranean speakeasy, the Boiler Room.
“We wanted to give guests, and the citizens of Bryan, a hotel as memorable as the city itself,” Jeremy Buffam said in a statement. “Trains and hotels evoke a nostalgia for travel and adventure that goes hand in glove with the preferences of today’s travelers for a truly authentic experience. The re-imagined LaSalle strikes those notes of reverence and reverie in a way that we know visitors will find compelling.
“The LaSalle opened as a theater, was used to treat returning Civil War soldiers and when that was no longer needed, legend has it that the building was sold for 2,500 gold coins, becoming a hotel in 1928, during the golden age of railroad travel,” Buffam continued. “The people who’ve passed through these doors, and the stories that brought them here, spark the imagination and create connections to our shared past in a unique and inviting way.”
“New Castle has a long history of acquiring historic hotels and repositioning them for new generations of travelers,” said Julian Buffam. “We saw the potential of The LaSalle through a comprehensive repositioning and affiliation with Marriott’s Tribute Portfolio, which introduces this small-city treasure to the growing base of Bonvoy Loyalty Members who are looking for a distinct and elevated hospitality experience in Bryan and College Station. Downtown Bryan’s concentration of independent boutiques, bars and restaurants and its designation as a cultural arts district play well with boutique, community-centric hotels of this quality that are designed to invite the public in and create meaningful connections between guests and locals.”
The City of Bryan supported the project with municipal incentives and historic tax credits.
“The LaSalle is a critical historical asset in Downtown Bryan, and the New Castle team has done a tremendous job in assuring that it is preserved and celebrated,” said Bryan Mayor Bobby Guitterez. “This opening is an important milestone in our efforts to build the birthplace of Aggieland into a thriving, culturally rich destination for years to come.”
The LaSalle has 55 guestrooms, Station 36 restaurant, The Boiler Room speakeasy and indoor/outdoor accommodations for groups.