The Red Lion Hotels chain opened its Hotel RL Baltimore Inner Harbor in August. Targeted to millennials traveling to the city for business or pleasure, Hotel RL welcomes visitors not with a traditional front desk, but with a roving band of “greeters” that check in guests swiftly and efficiently using hand-held tablets. There is a lobby, but with its loft-style, open floor plan and art gallery, music stage and communal dining spaces, it is unlike any hotel lobby you may have seen.

Young men and women, hotel guests and locals, were sitting around the lobby at communal tables and in upholstered couches and chairs drinking complimentary Victrola coffee (a well-known West Coast brand) and working silently on their laptops, or in quiet group conversations. It had a similar vibe to the trendy Ace hotels, which have been popping up in high-tech savvy downtowns for several years now. For Baltimore, this is something new.

Rooms in the 130-room hotel offer all the hip amenities their target market could hope for, including 60-inch HDTVs, extremely fast (and free) WiFi, a mini-fridge and an open closet concept with “gear wall” hooks. The bathroom was large, with a modern, square sink and wonderful-smelling hemp and lemon shampoo, lavender and tea facial soap, mint and aloe body wash and a cool-looking, black charcoal soap bar. Other desirable room features included thick writing pads, windows that open, a magnificent wood floor and a unique, handcrafted wall clock created by a local artist.

Although the rooms are quite comfortable, the hotel encourages guests to “hang out” downstairs, where there is often some type of interesting activity, other than people-watching. A small “Living Stage” within the lobby features local musicians, TED Talk-style seminars and hands-on demonstrations every few days. Rotating exhibits of paintings and photographs from Baltimore artists adorn the lobby walls, and the lobby restaurant offers private and communal tables with eclectic morning and evening items. Dishes include breakfast entrées like artisan wheat bread with smashed avocado, arugula and tomato topped with extra virgin olive oil and lemon, and all-day items such as wild-caught salmon served over green tea- and bamboo-infused rice, mango relish and seasonal vegetables.

The property is located a short walk to the Inner Harbor, downtown sports stadiums, the historic Mount Vernon neighborhood and the city’s light rail line.

Hotel RL Baltimore

207 E Redwood St.
Baltimore, MD 21202
tel 410 685 2381