Word is that Herons in Cary’s very, very new Umstead Hotel is set to open on January 15th. As most, if not all, of you know, the Umstead is on the SAS campus off Harrison Avenue which means it is, of course, funded by the Goodnights. Finally, we’ll have a 4-star hotel in the area which has been needed for quite some time. Hopefully, Herons will pull its weight in that department as a fantastic restaurant is certainly a requirement of a boutique hotel, especially one which sits quite a ways from anything else worth noting (i.e. not in a city/cultural/entertainment center of the area).
To validate the opening date, I went to the Umstead website and attempted to make a reservation for a hotel room. The first day it will allow me to do so is the 15th, which just reiterates the opening date of the restaurant. We reported a while back that accomplished chef Phil Evans had been tapped to helm the kitchen and I personally cannot wait to give the place a try.
Admittedly, I am a Raleigh snob who has a near-insurmountable repulsion to partaking of just about anything in Cary (save the breathtaking Koka Booth Amphitheatre). But, I do love to keep tabs on the Goodnights and believe wholeheartedly in our city’s ability to maintain high-end hotels. Sure, I wouldn’t have put our first 4 star on the SAS campus, but hopefully it will be met with enough enthusiasm and business to reinforce recent decisions made by Westin and Marriott, and attract even more to our opportunity-rich city.
We’ll report back about the restaurant soon as we’ll surely be giving it a sample early on. Plus, my wife and I will definitely be scheduling a date night at the Umstead Hotel and Spa soon… Makes me relaxed just thinking about it!
