Kimpton Schofield Hotel

It’s one of our favorite tunes. Start with a small industrial city that’s on the upswing, find a charming old landmark building, bring in a hotshot design team, then give ‘em the old razzle dazzle: bespoke furnishings, Frette linens, farm-to-table cuisine, craft cocktails. That’s the Kimpton Schofield Hotel in a nutshell. The city is Cleveland, and the historic landmark, in this case, the Schofield, an 14-story office building constructed in the city’s downtown in 1902.

The Kimpton group spent five years and fifty million dollars getting the place into shape. It was time and money well spent; the elegant brick facade may be a throwback to gentler times, but the interior is both cool and classic. The look is modern and pleasantly understated, with pale wood and dark slate, linen sofas, copper accents, potted plants, and cozy throw rugs. Over there, an open fireplace, over here, a geometric reading nook that looks like something you’d pin to your Ultimate Dream Home board on Pinterest.

Guest rooms are simple but thoroughly comfortable, featuring pillow-top beds and bath products by Atelier Bloem. Rooms also come with extra perks like yoga mats, and artwork tied to the place: at the Schofield, that means Victorian era-style light boxes with letters you can move around to spell out your own messages. Fun if you’re into poetry, convenient if you’re too shy to call housekeeping to ask for an extra towel.

It’s a Kimpton, after all, so the extra amenities are par for the course, as is the state-of-the-art fitness center, the hosted wine hour every evening, and the fleet of complimentary custom-designed PUBLIC bikes on loan, should you fancy a spin around town. For dinner or drinks, there’s Betts, offering seasonal menus made with locally sourced ingredients in an airy industrial space. All told, it might be a standard formula for a hit song, but it’s one that never gets old.