Here’s a sneak peek inside new expansion of an award-winning hotel on Columbia’s Main Street
For the last six years, the boutique Hotel Trundle has won national acclaim and has been a key player in the continued revitalization of downtown Columbia.
Now owners Rita Patel and Marcus Munse, a wife-and-husband duo, are debuting the latest addition of the Trundle brand and bringing a bit of luxury into a historic setting in the heart of the capital city.
The Flutter Wing expansion of the hotel recently opened at 1544 Main St., with a ribbon-cutting celebration Wednesday. The new addition is located right around the corner from the main Hotel Trundle building, which is at 1224 Taylor St. The Flutter Wing is on the second floor of 1544 Main, situated above the long-running Drake’s Duck-In restaurant, which is, itself, set to soon reopen after undergoing an expansive remodeling.
The Flutter Wing features five guest rooms, highlighted by The Darling Suite, a large bridal suite that has tall ceilings, custom-made furniture, intricately curated decor and large, historic windows that offer a sweeping view out onto Main Street and the Columbia Museum of Art, which is directly across the street.
Hotel Trundle, which has 41 rooms on Taylor Street, debuted in 2018 and has been named by USA Today as one of the 10 best historic hotels in the U.S. and one of the nation’s best boutique hotels.
A key portion of The Flutter Wing’s business will likely be bridal parties that will rent out the entire five-room space for weekends. That said, Munse and Patel noted that individual Flutter Wing rooms can be booked Mondays through Thursdays.
“It provides a more intimate space for family and friends traveling together but still offers all the great perks of a traditional hotel, like breakfast, coffee, linens, robes, really great interior design,” Patel offered.
The Flutter Wing also features an outdoor patio at the rear of the building, with plentiful seating and various decorative touches.
“I think some of the things we see when we travel that we like and wish we had, we saw an opportunity to do that here,” Munse said. “Like the patio. We’ve always loved going to a rooftop (patio) when we’re traveling, even if it’s just up one story. There’s just something about it.”
The building at 1544 Main St. was built in the 1870s, according to Historic Columbia. Uses for the building through the years have included a bookstore, beauty salons, a cafe and more. Patel said one of the former second-floor businesses in the building inspired the name of The Flutter Wing’s cornerstone Darling Suite.
“It’s called the Darling Suite is because the last business that was in this space was called the Darling Beauty Salon,” Patel said.
While it hosted various businesses years ago, the second-floor at 1544 Main had long been abandoned before Munse and Patel launched into revitalizing the space. They worked to strike a balance between the old and the new as they overhauled the space, rehabilitating the historic flooring and using as many of the original building materials as they could.
Munse and Patel have been married for 14 years and have two sons, Easton, 9, and Von, 7. Patel said Easton and Von helped influence elements of The Flutter Wing. The boys love rocks, and Patel said she took them gem mining last summer. That experience stood as inspiration for some of the patterns and colors and interiors at The Flutter Wing.
“I can just see memories of the summer all around Flutter,” she said.
Even though The Flutter Wing is just opening, Patel and Munse are already thinking about what their next project will be. While she couldn’t yet share details, Patel noted it would be in the realm of the hospitality industry, as one would expect.
“We have some wheels in motion right now,” Patel said, with a knowing smile. “Hopefully we’ll be able to make some announcements soon.”
This story was originally published February 28, 2024 at 5:30 AM.
