Hotel Heron With Rooftop Bar Opens On Restored George Mason Hotel Site

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Hotel Heron, a new hotel in the restored George Mason Hotel building, opened last week in Alexandria.

The boutique hotel is located at 699 Prince Street, which was originally the site of the George Mason Hotel that opened in 1926. The 134-room Hotel Heron has a restaurant serving Mid-Atlantic cuisine, a cocktail bar, and seasonal rooftop bar with Potomac River views. It is part of the Aparium Hotel Group and was restored with help from architects Antonovich Associates and the interior design team at Streetsense.

"This building was once home to one of the most modern hotels of its era and a premier venue for social events in its heyday," said General Manager Phillip Blane. "We’re honored to revive that storied legacy in Old Town, transforming it into a vibrant, welcoming community hub."

The hotel's Mid-Atlantic restaurant KILN serves breakfast and dinner, and lunch service will launch in the fall. The name pays homage to Alexandria's first documented potter, Henry Piercy, who had his kiln blocks from where Hotel Heron stands today. The breakfast menu includes traditional options with regional ingredients. At night, dinner serve is centered around Chef Matt Maienshein and his team preparing dishes in front of diners. Dinner options range from small bites such as Olde Salt Oysters to larger entrees like Confit North Carolina Shrimp and Atlantic Spotted Seatrout. An eight-seat Chef’s Counter has limited availability by reservation.

"The wood-fired component of KILN will allow our Mid-Atlantic ingredients to shine," said Maienshein. "I’m especially excited to honor the generational fisherman and local farmers through our menus. We have the unique opportunity to showcase ingredients sourced from our own backyard, and that’s exactly what we’re doing."

Two bars are located in the hotel for guests and visitors alike. Good Fortune is Alexandria's only hotel rooftop bar and is open seasonally. The bar will serve cocktails and offer events like DJ sets and a summer concert series. Inside, Francis Hall is a cocktail bar hidden in plain sight. The menu features 30 drinks, including experimental offerings.

Hotel Heron is planning to offer monthly programs, including the rooftop concert series, health and wellness programs and Alexandria 275th birthday celebrations. Other hotel amenities include a fitness center and meeting spaces. Through a partnership with CulturalDC, the hotel has works from local artists in the ballroom. Stephanie Mercedes is Heron Hotel’s first artist in residency and has show "Metal and I, Want the Same Thing" that debuted with the hotel opening.

The Alexandria Economic Development Partnership helped the hotel project secure a gap financing program using state and local tax revenues. With the COVID-19 pandemic impacting lending to hotel projects, the project faced a shortfall. It was approved for gap funding through Virginia's Tourism Development Financing Program, a state and local financing program for tourism projects. Bonds issued to cover the shortfall will be repaid through sales tax revenue the hotel generates.

For more information, visit heronalexandria.com. Reservations for KILN, Francis Hall and Good Fortune are offered through OpenTable.