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This small-town convent is courting a different sort of visitor

As small towns across America reinvent themselves, religious buildings are often the first to adapt. So it is with this 165-year-old former convent and girls’ Catholic school in Frederick, Maryland, which reopened last month as a boutique hotel with 65 smart, tailored rooms, a sophisticated lobby and a communal courtyard for events. The winning feature of the new Visitation Hotel is a vaulted restaurant and mezzanine bar in the former chapel, conceptualised by local James Beard-nominated chef Bryan Voltaggio and his brother Michael Voltaggio.

Lance Jaccard, CEO of OTJ Architects, led the careful restoration and rebuild of the former Visitation Academy, founded in 1846. His team elevated the 200-year-old brick exterior to incorporate modern amenities and contemporary sophistication and made space inside to display historical artefacts from the original buildings within shadow boxes. Jaccard’s business partner, Jim O’Hare, a real estate developer with a long career revitalising historic properties, propelled the project forward.

‘The girls’ school and convent at Visitation played such a meaningful role in the history of downtown Frederick,’ says O’Hare, ‘and with our adaptive reuse, we hope that Visitation Hotel Frederick will be a huge part of Frederick’s future.’

‘We knew that our team could uphold this space as a community centerpiece, and turn it into something destination-worthy,’ says Naveen Kakarla, CEO of HHM Hotels, the company managing the property. ‘Frederick has long deserved a boutique hotel, and we are pleased Visitation can play that role.’

The Visitation is the first hotel in 50 years to open in downtown Frederick, Maryland’s second city, with Civil War history (the convent itself cared for soldiers during the war) and a charming downtown with preserved Federal-style buildings. It sits on a 3.5-acre property that will also house long-stay condominiums.

The city has emerged recently as a destination for good, local food and classic cocktails. The Voltaggios’ restaurant, known as the Wye Oak Tavern, models itself as a steak and seafood house with original landscape art by local artist Jenny Wilson and preserved stained glass windows.

www.visitationhotel.com

Photography: © Visitation Hotel 2025
Photography: © Visitation Hotel 2025
Photography: © Visitation Hotel 2025

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