CHARLESTON, SC (December 14, 2017) – Hotel Bennett, the grand new luxury hotel under construction on King Street and overlooking Charleston’s iconic and historic Marion Square, has announced its opening leadership team.
The 179-room property is being led by Managing Director Vijay Singh, the highly-respected, Charleston-based hospitality executive who has spent the last six years working as vice president of operations for Salamander Hotels & Resorts. Heidi Nowak has joined as the hotel’s director of sales and marketing after a distinguished career with the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company.
“I’m proud to be working alongside such knowledgeable and experienced professionals to open the most luxurious property Charleston has ever seen,” said Singh. “We look forward to delivering world-class service and becoming a true community gathering place for the city’s residents.”
European in its design, Hotel Bennett is scheduled to open in Summer 2018 and features elegant guestrooms and suites opening onto the square, a two-tiered restaurant with outdoor seating, and a stylish bar and lounge. The hotel will also include a spectacular rooftop pool and bar, a luxury spa, a patisserie, and over 14,000 square feet of grand event and meeting spaces.
The luxury property is named for the Charleston-based Bennett family, and is owned by local hotelier Michael Bennett and his company Bennett Hospitality, operations for which are overseen by veteran hotel executive Marty Wall. Hotel Bennett is being managed by Salamander Hotels & Resorts, the luxury hotel company founded by Sheila Johnson and led by noted hospitality executive Prem Devadas.
Before joining Salamander, where he oversaw the openings of three luxury hotels, Vijay Singh was the general manager of The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island, a Forbes Five Star and AAA Five Diamond award winner. A veteran of some of the country’s finest hotels and resorts, Singh also spent 13 years with the Ritz-Carlton Company working at resorts in Naples, FL; Atlanta; Amelia Island, FL; Cleveland and St. Louis.
Heidi Nowak arrives at Hotel Bennett after working in leadership roles for 20 years with the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, most recently as the director of sales and marketing at the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman. For the previous seven years, she served as director of sales, marketing, meetings and special events at the Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte, a AAA Five Diamond property. She has also worked in Miami, New York, Detroit and Washington, D.C.
Prominently located on Marion Square, the hotel’s historic site formerly housed the original west wing of The Citadel, South Carolina’s Military Academy. More recently, it was home to the Charleston Library. Today, Marion Square, the most famous green space in the city, serves as a central gathering location for world-class events and festivals.
