Boutique Hotel in Virginia
At the corner of Patton and North Union Streets in the River District of Danville, Virginia, sits a stately building that housed the Danville Bee newspaper from 1921 to the 1970s. Today, that location has been transformed into an upscale boutique hotel. A highlight of the hotel is a beautiful top-level suite with an ActivWall Folding Door opening out to a rooftop veranda.
After the press moved to a larger, more modern location in the ’70s, the Danville Bee merged with the Danville Register to become known today as the Danville Register & Bee. The grand stone building stood vacant for more than 40 years until it caught the attention of Ed Walker, a developer from Roanoke, Virginia, who had an incredible vision in mind. Ed and his team bought the building in 2018 and began restoring it.
In November 2020, Marshall Hotels & Resorts opened The Bee, a 47-suite urban boutique-style hotel that tastefully blends high style and history for business travelers and vacationers to enjoy.
The developers, architects, and designers involved preserved as much of the historic property as possible by incorporating the elaborate portico, original wood floors, an original spiral staircase, and historical photographs into their designs for the boutique hotel.
The Bee’s rooms feature modern amenities and are inspired by the style pages. They feature sleek contemporary furnishings, warm wood finishes, rich textures, and a dash of shimmer.
The undeveloped rooftop of the building at this location presented an opportunity to add a unique feature to The Bee – a rooftop suite and veranda. The veranda offers entertaining space and scenic views of Danville’s thriving River District.
Working with the staff at Piedmont Glass, who handled all of the property’s commercial aluminum windows and doors, ActivWall designed and manufactured a custom six-panel Folding Door to fit a 195″ wide by 86″ high opening between the suite and veranda.
The design of this ActivWall Folding system allows it to be used as a single outswing door or a set of double outswing doors, or you can open all the panels for full access to the suite.
Roger Adkins and Jason Doak of Piedmont Glass had heard of ActivWall products from a fellow contractor. To learn more, they toured the production facility in Martinsville, Virginia.
Later, when Roger and Jason learned that The Bee’s developers were interested in a folding door unit for this project, they knew exactly where to turn for a high-quality, American-made product.
The custom ActivWall door designed for The Bee is made of thermally broken aluminum with a black powder-coat finish. It has insulated Low E gray-tinted glass and a saddle sill.
According to Adkins, “Our experience with ActivWall was great. The sales team was very knowledgeable about the products, and the installation team was very professional.” He added, “When the unit arrived, it fit perfectly, so we were very pleased with the whole package.”
ActivWall’s custom folding doors are available nationwide. Click the button below to request a free quote and connect with our skilled sales team for additional information.
See The Bee Hotel's Custom Folding Door in Action
Acknowledgments:
Story by Jennifer Doss. Historical information provided by The Bee Hotel and the Danville Register & Bee. Project partner: Piedmont Glass.
