A Portrait of Boutique Brand Delamar Hotels
by Laurie Wilson /Delamar Hotels was founded by owner/CEO Charles Mallory. On the heels of a successful shipping career, Mallory jumped ship to pursue a lifelong passion for hospitality and, in 2000, opened a luxury hotel, the Delamar Greenwich Harbor, in his hometown, Greenwich, Connecticut.
Fast forward to 2023, there are now four Delamar properties.
“Each Delamar location has been carefully selected, whether on the water with unrivaled views or in the heart of a bustling town center or near cultural attractions,” says Mallory. Mallory’s passion for the arts is evident by the many works of local artists that hang in the hotels. And, the restaurants in the hotels are named Artisan, with menus that highlight farm-fresh, locally-sourced ingredients.
The 43-room Delamar Southport sits pretty in history-rich Southport, with its cobblestoned streets flanked by antique stores. The hotel runs a beach shuttle to bring guests to a handful of nearby beaches—with packed picnic baskets. In winter, there’s that wood-burning fireplace in the tavern. Also, a new spa is being built at the hotel and will be completed this fall.
The 114-room Delamar West Hartford, a quick walk to Blue Back Square, has a full-service spa and is near attractions like the Mark Twain House and New Britain Museum of American Art.
The company’s flagship hotel, Delamar Greenwich Harbor, will be renovated beginning next January through May. About 60 guest rooms will be renovated and a rooftop will also be built.
The brand is currently building two new hotels in Connecticut, the Delamar Westport and Delamar Mystic, both of which will be completed by late 2024.
And, another hotel in Connecticut is planned for the near future. “We recently acquired Lime Rock Park in Litchfield Connecticut,“ says Dixon Mallory. “It is a natural-terrain motorsport road racing venue located in Lakeville, Connecticut, a hamlet in the town of Salisbury, in the state’s northwest corner. Built in 1956, it is the nation’s third oldest continuously operating road racing venue, behind Road America (1955) and Willow Springs International Motorsports Park (1953). We plan to build a hotel overlooking the race track in the near future.”
All of Delamar’s properties are in Connecticut, with one exception—Michigan.
“Delamar Traverse City presented the opportunity to have a foothold in the Midwest, in what is an irreplaceable location along the shores of Lake Michigan just a short walk from downtown Traverse City,” says Dixon Mallory, director of business development Development, Greenwich Hospitality Group; Delamar is the flagship brand. “The entire region is rapidly growing and has been historically overlooked by luxury hotel brands and operators. However, this is starting to change as evidenced by the construction of a new Autograph Collection hotel by Marriott in Traverse City slated to open at the end of 2024.”
Also, the company is diversifying its portfolio, and getting into the rental apartment market, soon to debut its first standalone Delamar Residences in Stamford, Connecticut,
“Greenwich Hospitality Group does not have any development plans for new hotels beyond the existing pipeline, however, we are always looking at potential acquisitions and development sites for future growth of the Delamar brand,” says Dixon Mallory.
“We envision our collection of architecturally designed, boutique hotels as the ‘best loved’ luxury accommodations in Connecticut and Michigan,” says Mallory. “Our priority is to provide consistent service excellence to our guests, innovative spa and wellness facilities, and exceptional dining establishments.”