With historic architecture, the world-class Cleveland Museum of Art, and proximity to Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Cleveland has long been an underrated Midwest vacation destination. But one new hotel just put Forest City back on the hospitality map.
Fidelity Hotel, in downtown Cleveland’s 103-year-old Fidelity Mortgage Building (aka the Baker Building), opened its doors today. It’s the first new hotel to debut in the city in over a decade, with 97 rooms and suites spread over 11 stories. The new hotel is also home to the posh Club Room, which has a lounge, bar, and a full-service restaurant. There’s also a 2,300-square-foot meeting space for those visiting the city on business as well as ample space for weddings and other events.
Though Cleveland is home to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, this Great Lakes city is not exactly known for its raucous atmosphere. But that wasn’t always the case; from the 1920s to the 1960s, the block in front of the Fidelity Hotel was the city’s go-to spot for whiskey drinking and general debauchery. The block-long nightlife hub, known affectionately as Short Vincent, has been a shadow of its former self for decades. But Fidelity, with the help of Austin-based hotel management company New Waterloo, is now breathing fresh life into the once bustling neighborhood.
Ali Harper/Courtesy of Fidelity Hotel
“Everything about the location of The Fidelity spoke to me,” said Bart Knagg, New Waterloo CEO, in a statement sent to Travel + Leisure. “[It’s] a half step off the main avenue, tucked away. I loved the intimate scale and how understated the building was. The opportunity to be in that location, allowed us to put forth something fresh and current, but timeless.”
New Waterloo is no stranger to the independent hospitality game, and other notable properties in its portfolio include the stylish, midcentury modern–inspired South Congress Hotel in Austin, the 1970s-esque Hotel Revival in Baltimore, and the newly opened, cowboy-chic Hotel Albert in Fredericksburg, Texas. The company also manages restaurants, and two of its eateries, La Condesa (specializing in contemporary Mexican cuisine) and steakhouse Maie Day, both earned Michelin-recommended nods in 2024. Renovations at the Fidelity began three years ago in 2021, and thanks to design by Curioso and Looney & Associates, the atmosphere at the hotel feels warm, inviting, and nostalgic with unlacquered brass, antique mirrors, wood accents, and hardwood floors.
Accommodation options at the Fidelity range from the 210-square-foot Queen Room to the 695-square-foot pied-à-terre-style Fidelity Suite, which is tricked out with a large wet bar as well as a separate dining and sitting area. All guests at the Fidelity can enjoy twice-a-day housekeeping, locally sourced pour-over coffee, Bellino Italian linens, plush robes, and Allegrini soaps and bathroom products.
“I want guests to step into Fidelity Hotel and feel transported,” Knagg said. “The guest rooms’ colors are rich, and it’s evident throughout the property how much attention to detail and thoughtfulness there was to the design … I hope everyone that visits gets a little rush of style nostalgia and finds inspiration in ways that I do when I venture throughout the cozy nooks of the hotel.”
