SANDESTIN — Before ascending with dozens of loved ones, associates and other guests to its rooftop for further celebration, Tom Becnel helped preside over a ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open his elegant Hotel Effie Sandestin on Thursday evening.
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Construction had started three years ago on the 250-room hotel at 1 Grand Sandestin Blvd. at the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort. Becnel is the majority owner of the resort and the owner and developer of Hotel Effie, which is named after his late grandmother, Effie Burns.
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The 10-story building has seven floors of guest rooms, 20,000 square feet of meeting space and a parking garage below the main floor.
The hotel also features culinary concepts by celebrity chef Hugh Acheson, a spa and fitness center and the area’s only hotel rooftop pool and lounge, and is within walking distance of The Village of Baytowne Wharf.
“Everybody here has contributed in their own way to our arriving to this point,” Becnel said during the ceremony at the hotel’s entrance. “But I also want to thank hundreds of construction workers. I’m not exaggerating when I tell you ‘hundreds,’ who toiled every day in the cold or the heat, in rain and put in long, long hours in order to try to catch up with our schedule: A lot of work, seven days a week.”
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Becnel said while building the hotel took a team effort, his daughter, Sara Becnel, “is probably the person most responsible for the success of this hotel. She was involved since the beginning. She took on a yeoman’s task to coordinate all of the subcontractors and all of the efforts, but almost more importantly, she is the one person who is responsible for the interior finishes and the design, which make it special in my opinion.”
Sara Becnel, who is the vice president of development and general manager of Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort, thanked her father for his guidance and mentorship.
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“It was truly, truly a family effort, and it made it really super special to be able to learn and work with my father,” she said during the ceremony. “He talks about all of the things I did, but the building wouldn’t even be out of the ground if it weren’t for him.”
After she cut the ceremonial ribbon, Sara Becnel told the audience, “All right everybody, let’s go party!”
Before taking elevators to the rooftop lounge, attendees of the ceremony enjoyed viewing some of the hotel’s curated art collection. It includes works by Santa Rosa Beach mixed-media artist Brendan Parker, whose studio is on the resort, and helps give Hotel Effie the appearance of a posh hotel in Miami.
Also featured on the first floor are two wooden rocking chairs underneath a portrait of the hotel’s namesake, Effie Burns.
“Her gift was to make you feel like you were the only person in the room, all with genuine hospitality as refreshing as a glass of sweet tea and a cool breeze on a rocking chair porch,” states a tribute on the hotel’s website.
Sara Becnel, who declined to provide the hotel’s construction cost, said her favorite part of the hotel is seeing it filled with people. It had welcomed its first overnight guests on Feb. 1.
“The building of it was a fun process, and I especially love the design, but the best part is to see people really enjoying it,” she said. “That’s why we build things like this, so people can come and make memories forever.”
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During the soiree at Ara Rooftop Pool & Lounge, attendees enjoyed views of Choctawhatchee Bay and the Gulf of Mexico while checking out cabanas, loungers and interactive outdoor games, such as a giant chess set.
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Music provided by DJ 30A accompanied them as they savored beverages and “light bites” provided by Acheson, who conceptualized four culinary outlets for Hotel Effie.
Ara “is both a luxurious pool experience and a stylish rooftop lounge with fine wine, hand-crafted cocktails and original menu,” according to hotel officials. It is open on weekends until March, when it opens full-time.
Ovide, which is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, features Gulf Coast seafood combined with a French influence. Also open full-time are The Lobby Bar, which includes creative libations and signature small plates, and Sweetbay Coffee, which offers a menu of gourmet, grab-and-go selections.
Acheson, who did not attend Thursday’s celebration, is a six-time James Beard Award nominee, 2012 winner for Best Chef Southeast and the chef and owner of Five & Ten and The National in Athens, Georgia, and Empire State South and Spiller Park Coffee in Atlanta.
In 2010, he competed on Bravo’s “Top Chef Masters: Season 3” and later returned as a judge on “Top Chef” and “Top Chef: Duels.”
“Having Chef Acheson here is obviously a big feather in our cap,” Sara Becnel said. “Having a celebrity chef come and join the project with us really sets us apart from other hotels in this area, and his food is just awesome. He really meshes well with our brand, and it’s some of the best food I’ve ever had.”
The hotel is managed by Highgate, a hospitality investment and management company that has a corporate office in Miami.
To learn more, visit hoteleffie.com.
Source: https://t-tees.com
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