High-rise hotel opens in Biloxi, and more upscale stays are coming to Coast downtowns
The recent opening of Hotel Legends in Biloxi kicks off a flurry of development of hotels and housing in downtowns across South Mississippi.
The dark blue building at 674 Beach Blvd. is open for the first time in 15 years since Hurricane Katrina ruined what was a senior apartment building overlooking the beach. The tall building provides shade for the pool deck in the afternoon and is a backdrop for the light show that glows around the hotel when the sun goes down.
Lodging & Leisure Investments — which restored the White House Hotel, Margaritaville Resort Biloxi and Centennial Plaza — turned the empty, nondescript building into a 132-room, all-suite hotel with upscale dining and an infinity swimming pool.
Because of the coronavirus, a grand opening celebration wasn’t held for the building’s latest transformation. But the first couple to check in on Friday was applauded by the staff.
A bunch of celebrities also showed up — the walls of Hotel Legend are used as an art gallery, showcasing music and film stars from Hollywood’s Golden Age of the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s. They hang out everywhere — in the lobby, the hotel rooms, the hallways and the Sapphire Supper Club, where an entire wall is papered with a photo from the movie “Robin and the 7 Hoods” featuring the Rat Pack.
“We have a few nods to Jayne Mansfield,” and several photos of Elvis, both of whom have ties to the Coast, said hotel public relations director Tessy Lambert.
She and her sister Taylor Stork curated all the vintage Hollywood photographs from Getty Images. Plaques underneath tell the story behind the picture.
“To me, it’s the storytelling and nostalgia this hotel brings,” Lambert said that makes it experience for those who visit.
Opposite the large Hollywood sign is a picture of Grace Kelly on her last day at the studio, symbolically saying goodbye to Hollywood before she left to marry and become the queen of Monaco.
Glitz, glamour and classic cocktails
A mix of luxury accommodations, fine dining and the throwback to another era give Hotel Legends the feel of a getaway.
The restaurant exudes “glitz and glamour,” said Lambert. “Our tables are lit from within — they glow,” she said.
Hotel guests and the public can sip a Sapphire Experience or other specialty cocktail and choose from a menu of appetizers and salads, choice steaks and seafood such as Gulf Fish Almandine. Among the house specialties is Steak Diane with wild mushrooms and truffle fries.
For now, the supper club is open from 5-10 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with entertainment starting at 6 p.m. Songs of the era are featured by musicians, starting with Jesse Hill on Thursday and Spenser Racca Fridays and Saturdays.
Dress is business casual.
The full bar at the Sapphire Supper Club is open nightly, and another bar is next to the swimming pool, where the public can sit at one of the groupings of chairs under the oak trees, feel the breeze off the water and watch the fountain choreographed to to 30 songs from the days of Nat King Cole and show tunes like “Singin’ in the Rain.”
This bar features classic cocktails like the sloe gin fizz and New York egg cream that has neither eggs nor cream — “All the vintage and new drinks alike,” Lambert said.
There’s a coffee shop on the first floor, and on the second floor are a fitness room and three meeting rooms available to be rented to the public.
An all-suites hotel
The hotel is right across the street from the Biloxi Small Craft Harbor and Hard Rock Casino Biloxi, with a pedestrian crosswalk just outside the entrance. It’s an easy walk to the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino, baseball and events at MGM Park and Howard Avenue that is making a comeback in the downtown.
Four types of suites accommodate business travelers, couples, families and friends. The double king suites have two king bedrooms with individual luxury baths, separated by a seating space and bar for friends on a weekend getaway. For families, one of the rooms has two queen beds.
The rooms also have a view of the Mississippi Sound or downtown Biloxi.
Downtown development across MS Coast
“I think it’s a great sign of what’s coming,” Corey Christy, president of Biloxi Main Street, said of the Oct. 1 opening of Hotel Legends.
It’s very important that Biloxi has options for travelers who prefer not to stay at a casino, he said, along with new things for people to do, like visiting the popup park at Ohr and Howard.
More hotels and downtown living are on the way in South Mississippi:
▪ Lodging & Leisure Investments has another major transformation in the works, restoring the Markham Hotel in downtown Gulfport. The hotel is the last of the major buildings on the Coast severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
▪ Demolition has begun to transform the former Josette’s costume building in Biloxi into downtown apartments.
▪ Hotel Beatnik, a tiny hotel in walking distance to the beach and downtown Ocean Springs, opened this summer and will be followed by restaurants and other new businesses.
▪ The total remodel of Scranton’s Restaurant in downtown Pascagoula will have four apartments upstairs. The old Hancock Bank building will have downtown living and apartments and retail space are coming to the Odd Fellows building on Krebs Avenue in Pascagoula.
The Pearl Hotel in Bay St. Louis
The Pearl Hotel and its Thorny Oyster restaurant are coming this winter in downtown Bay St. Louis.
The hotel is in a prime location right at the waterfront, said Tish Williams, executive director of Hancock Chamber of Commerce. With its distinctive New Orleans-style architecture complete with balconies overlooking the street, it’s going to be an anchor in downtown, she said.
“It’s going to drive more than just out-of-town visitors to spend the night,” she said. With 59 rooms, six suites and an $18 million investment, “It’s obviously going to have a number of economic benefits,” she said.
The Cure family who is building the hotel is local and believes enough in their community to make this sizable investment, she said.
They also know how to be a good neighbor, she said, starting with their construction crews.
“They have done a beautiful job with great respect to the neighbors and other businesses in the community,” she said.
This story was originally published October 6, 2020 at 5:50 AM.
