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Don Simmons Jr./A view from inside the General Francis Marion Hotel in downtown Marion.

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Downtown hotel wins spot on National Geographic travel list

By DON SIMMONS JR./Correspondent

Only a couple of years after Joe and Susie Ellis finished their multi-million renovation of the General Francis Marion Hotel, the historic local landmark has landed on a travel list compiled by one of the most widely read travel magazines in the world.
National Geographic Traveler magazine featured the Marion hotel on its inaugural “Stay List” in its April issue. The hotel was noted as a “Roaring Twenties vintage small town find” with a “careful 2006 restoration” and “millennial updates including flat-screen TVs and high-speed Internet.”
The National Geographic Traveler editors compiled their list based on many criteria including authenticity, location-inspired architecture, sense of place, ambience and amenities, and an ethic of giving back to the community.
“The hotel rang so many bells for us, but it really comes down to the people,” said Traveler editor Shelia Buckmaster. “The Ellises restored it with an eye toward promoting the region as a whole. People do stay somewhere just to experience a hotel. The General Francis Marion is tied to a sense of place and the community. The hotel is there to help further your experience of the area.”
The magazine sent letters to noted hotel experts and travel writers asking for suggestions for its Stay List. It received more than 600 nominations, including the GFM, according to Buckmaster. Each hotel was contacted and asked to complete an extensive questionnaire. They were then rated and “snooped around” on before the magazine narrowed its list to 150 places in the United States, Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean.
Especially important in the hotels rating was how it was “renovated without running roughshod over its history” and 1920s period architecture.
“I love that they reduced the number of rooms from 57 to 36 to increase guest space, preserve the past and yet included modern amenities like high-speed Internet,” said Buckmaster. “It’s a real find.”
“We are so pleased to see our hotel listed in with such iconic lodging establishments as the Willard Intercontinental in Washington and the Sundance Resort in Utah,” said Robert W. Lincoln, the hotel’s general manager. “The credit for these accolades goes to our outstanding staff and the vision of our owners Susie and Joe Ellis to preserve this historic and architectural treasure.”
Find out more about the hotel at: http://www.gfmhotel.com.
To read a past story on the hotel and its restaurant, go to: http://www.swvatoday.com/comments/hotel_chef_adds_host_of_new_flavors_to_downtown_marion/