With the completion of the Residences tower, that added 200 rooms, the Omni Providence now boasts 564 rooms, and is still the tallest and largest hotel in Providence, having usurped the title from the 1922 Providence Biltmore upon completion.[citation needed]
History
The Westin Providence, as it was then known, was completed with 364 beds in December 1994 as part of a larger construction project which included the Rhode Island Convention Center and two parking garages.[1] The hotel held its first gala in January 1995.[1]
The hotel was sold to Omni Hotels & Resorts in October 2012 and was converted to the Omni Providence Hotel on January 15, 2013.[5]
The COVID-19 pandemic forced the Omni to close to the public in March 2020.[7] The hotel found some financial relief in January 2021 when nearby Brown University leased 240 rooms to provide socially distanced housing for their students, including weekly laundry service and a COVID testing site on the third floor.[7]
Criticism
William McKenzie Woodward, a local architectural historian and staff member of the Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission does not believe its styling to be architecturally innovative, calling it "yet another bland addition to the city's growing recent collection of buildings seemingly designed not to offend."[8]
^ abGagosz, Alexa (4 February 2021). "When your college dorm is a four-star hotel". Boston, MA: The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021. Brown University leased 240 rooms at the Omni Providence to provide socially distanced housing, and in turn, guaranteed income for a hotel that's been closed since last March
^Woodward, William McKenzie (2003). Guide to Providence Architecture. Providence: Providence Preservation Society. ISBN0-9742847-0-X.
