Written and posted by Culture Map
Fort Worth’s Hotel Dryce hasn’t even opened its doors yet, but it’s already generating some serious buzz.
In a January 23 Forbes article, travel journalist Roger Sands lists Hotel Dryce as one of "the world's most exciting hotel openings" in 2021.
“The modern 21-room hotel will include a trendy lobby bar-café hybrid meant to be a gathering place for residents and visitors alike," Sands writes. "The hotel has an art grant with Fort Worth art gallery Art Tooth to exhibit local BIPOC artists’ work throughout the hotel."
Along with business partner Allen Mederos, Fort Worth entrepreneur Jonathan Morris is building his first boutique hotel in an old dry-ice factory across from the new Dickies Arena in the Cultural District. Morris also owns the Fort Worth Barber Shop and is hosting a new show about entrepreneurs set to debut on Chip and Joanna Gaines’ forthcoming Magnolia Network.
In December, Travel + Leisure gave a nod to Hotel Dryce in a piece ranking Fort Worth among the 50 best places in the U.S. to visit this year. Also in December, Fodor’s Travel named Hotel Dryce one of its 15 most eagerly awaited new hotels in 2021.
The hotel broke ground in March 2020. In a recent Instagram post, Morris wrote that construction on the three-story, 10,645-square-foot hotel is a couple of months away from being finished. “Can’t wait to share this dream with y’all,” he wrote.
That dream, he has said, is to create a gathering place that welcomes travelers from around the world and reflects the culture of Fort Worth.
“I feel so bullish about Fort Worth and the way the city is growing,” he said last August in an interview about his new show.
Fort Worth-based architecture firm Bennett Benner Partners designed Hotel Dryce, and Fort Construction is the general contractor.
Hotel Dryce is the only Texas hotel to appear on the Forbes list of nine anticipated openings. It keeps company with hotels in Republic of Seychelles; Providenciales, Turks and Caicos; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Cancun, Mexico; Jackson Hole, Wyoming; Birmingham, Alabama; and San Diego, Los Angeles, California.
