‘We can’t wait to share it’: Amherstburg to welcome new boutique hotel

A new boutique hotel is just weeks away from opening in downtown Amherstburg.

Hotel STRY began taking bookings earlier this month and will open to guests beginning in October.

"As soon as we started this project, the walls started to talk to us in terms of what they needed, what they wanted and what they could become," said owner, Lauri Brouyette.

"Amherstburg is a heritage town. It's got a lot of history behind it. We have a fort, for goodness sake. So, there's a lot of architecture here that needs to be saved. We're proud to have done just this little part."

Constructed in 1875, the building at 70 Murray Street previously served Amherstburg as a grocery store, a furniture store, a bank and an auto parts store. Brouyette said Hotel STRY has undergone extensive renovations and is now ready for its next chapter.

"Amherstburg has been starving for places to stay,” she said. “We have beautiful Airbnbs, yes. But there is no place to stay right downtown as of now. So we're kind of the forerunners in that. Tourism is so key to this town and welcoming people who come discover the town, then they want to stay overnight, they want to stay here. We're glad to be able to do that kind of thing."

Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island (TWEPI) CEO, Gordon Orr, said the lodging accommodation is long overdue, noting Amherstburg residents have been calling for a new hotel for some time.

"They fit in nicely because boutique hotels help sort of restore district. They help define the district. What they do is they help smaller communities, like the town of Amherstburg, offer accommodations to their visiting public," Orr said.

"Boutique hotels really have a place because we're very fortunate. We've never had a better hotel, motel, boutique product in the Windsor-Essex region in three decades. The flags, the investments that have been made to put in to renovate properties, put new hotel flags up. Now the boutique hotels, certainly with the Stry Hotel, the Grove Hotel Motel in Kingsville, the new one that's being looked upon at the Paul Martin building in downtown Windsor, all have a place because what we want to do is offer our visiting public a range of options for their combination needs."

Hotel STRY houses six large suites, each with its own unique theme.

Guests have direct access to Pure Day Spa Amherstburg from within the hotel. Frate Street Food is also located on site and shares a patio with the hotel’s bar, The O.

Officials note Frate Street Food uses locally sourced ingredients to craft globally inspired street food. Both Frate and The O will soon be open.

Stepping out of Hotel STRY puts you directly in Amherstburg's Anchor District, which features restaurants, shopping and beyond.

Brouyette told CTV News the hope is the new hotel can accommodate all guests, noting they're partnering with Little Bird Wedding & Event Co. to make significant events extra special, calling it a truly unique wedding venue in Amherstburg.

"This space is for everybody, and we can't wait to share it," said Brouyette.

"We want families. We want couples. Everybody that would enjoy being in the heritage building and feeling a little bit of history, combined with all of the other amenities that we have to offer."