The Art of Inspiration - Summit Hotel

Cincinnati is an excellent place to find yourself and lose yourself in a virtual kaleidoscope of art. Wander Cincinnati’s streets taking in striking murals or spend a lunch hour, afternoon, weekend or week at the Art Museum, Taft Museum of Art, or Contemporary Art Center gazing at old masters or the avant-garde.

More of the Queen City’s vibrant art scene can be found at The Summit, A Dolce Hotel a few minutes north of the Ohio River on the Medpace campus in Madisonville. With dramatic exterior and interior architecture and fine in-room décor, all of The Summit is designed to provide guests a rich, art filled experience. From its inception, The Summit was purposely designed as a venue for art. Wyndham designers asked Adarsha Benjamin, owner of MAMA Gallery in California, to be the curator of the hotel’s permanent collection. That permanent collection, deliberately eclectic, is intended to appeal to all Summit guests whether for a weekend, a lunch date, a conference or a gala.

A guest on a business trip will find serenity and calm at the end of the day in the casual library with its surreal display of Two Refracted Forests. A couple here for a Cincinnati music festival will delight in finding Vacation, the steel, glass and concrete multi-media installation in the hotel lobby representing the American tradition of the family road trip. The girls’ soccer team here for a weekend tournament will delight in  the Graffiti Wall commissioned from Xylene, the Cincinnati-based group of artists. Inspired by the architecture and color scheme, the Graffiti Wall graces the atrium and lobby.

Complementing The Summit’s permanent art collection is a large gallery and exhibition space for art displayed on a rotating schedule. The gallery also serves as an event space perfect for receptions, meetings and other functions. Though not solely intended for showcasing regional artists, it has mainly served that purpose since the hotel opened. Owner and director of the locally-based gallery, Alternate Projects, Linda Schwartz has worked with The Summit to find regional artists with unique work appropriate to the gallery space. The objective is to provide a vivid inspiring backdrop for events – entertaining but not overpowering.

Much the same as its focus on local artists is The Summit’s relationship with the community. Friendly and welcoming as it is to visitors from afar, the hotel is closely tied to the people of Cincinnati, Madisonville and the surrounding area.  The terrace and garden area as well as the gallery, atrium and event rooms welcome people from the community.

Joining The Summit in March of this year, General Manager Martin Pittman has instituted Friday Night Flights with pop up shops featuring local artisans. Saturday mornings on the Terrace there are complimentary, seasonal yoga sessions, which included a goat yoga session this past summer.

The Summit truly nourishes the mind and the soul, but not to be neglected is nourishment of the body. Drawing inspiration from local scenery and the hotel’s creative spirit, The Summit’s culinary artists treat every plate as a blank canvas.  All cuisine is prepared from fresh, locally-sourced ingredients for a healthy, gourmet experience. Both The Market dining restaurant and Overlook Kitchen + Bar open to a sprawling patio, a perfect setting for a meal or to enjoy the clean fresh air with a hand-crafted cocktail.

Visit The Summit. Stroll through the gallery, restaurants and event spaces. See how this unique Cincinnati venue, designed to engage, enlighten and inspire, could be the perfect setting for your events.

The Summit Hotel is located at 5345 Medpace Way, Cincinnati, OH 45227. For more information, call 513.461.7823 or visit www.thesummithotel.com.