NYLO Providence/Warwick

I don’t often blog about hotels because, well, they’re hotels. In our case, we rarely see our hotel room while on vacation. This trip was a little different, especially towards the end, but that’s another story for another time.

What set the location of our first night of vacation apart from any hotel we have ever been to was the manner of design chosen throughout NYLO Providence/Warwick. Comprised mostly of concrete walls and floors, this ’boutique’ hotel is of a modern industrial design including high ceilings and over-sized windows.

Clearly, Hubby had forgotten the uniqueness of this hotel*, because as we approached the front doors he said, “What kind of hotel is* this?”

*Of which, he did approve when we were going through the multiple hotel booking process.

**Meant to be read stressing the word ‘is’.

And for a brief moment, I wondered if I had made a bad choice.*

*Because although he did approve this hotel, I distinctly remembered having been the one who chose it.

Fortunately, only a few more steps forward led us to the front desk and the lounge where any fears were put to rest. I spotted some hanging chairs that I immediately remembered from photos online and knew I would find myself in one of them later that night.

This hotel was unique in every sense of the word, but it was also a chunk of history.

Here is one way Hubby and I differ drastically. He would knock down any abandoned building at first opportunity. He sees such places as useless, claiming historical value not reason enough to prolong the life of an outdated structure. When I see an antiquated building, I think of the untold stories within its walls. I think of the beauty of craftsmanship from a time when things were made with pride and made to last.

NYLO Providence/Warwick was once the home of the historic textile mill complex, Pontiac Mills. The building dates back to 1863, in fact, American Civil War uniforms were once produced there! In later years, the mills produced Fruit of the Loom cloth.

The details throughout the hotel make it clear this place was not originally built as a place to house travelers. Exposed piping and brick accent walls whisper of a past hiding within the walls.

And while the hotel begins the story of a building rich in history, the abandoned buildings nearby continue the tale.

Part of me wanted to sneak in and explore what was hidden behind their walls, while another part of me held hopeful for the repurposed futures they too might hold.

NYLO Providence/Warwick
400 Knight Street
Warwick, RI 02886