For those visiting Cincinnati, or locals looking for a fun way to explore their own city, The Guild is a welcome addition to the area.

The company, which launched its business in 2016 nationally and in Cincinnati in 2018, offers “discerning travelers the distinctive design and extra space of an Airbnb along with the amenities and attentive service of an upscale boutique hotel,” according to Fares Halaseh, General Manager of the Cincinnati and Nashville locations.

The Guild’s business model offers a team of service members who bring their skills from hotel brands like the Ritz-Carlton and Rosewood. Guests can customize their stay with special requests and groceries ahead of their trip, and utilize a contact-free check-in.

In addition to offering luxury rooms found in upscale apartments, The Guild wants to inspire their visitors to explore their surroundings.

“Avid travelers ourselves, Chris Herndon (my co-founder) and I reflected back on our most memorable trips, and each of them combined the comforts of home with the thrill of discovering local gems. We wanted to provide that consistently delightful experience to every traveler,” says Brian Carrico, CEO and co-founder.

The Guild was founded in Austin and has expanded to Dallas, Miami, Nashville and Cincinnati over the past several years. They hope to open their services in Denver, Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia in the future.

Locally, The Guild has rooms in two different locations — The Current at The Banks and The Provident in downtown.

We (as in Digital Editor Hailey Bollinger and company) stayed at both locations and photographed our adventures along the way.

For more info about The Guild’s local accommodations, reach out to General Manager Fares Halaseh, or visit theguildco.com.

Full disclosure: We were extended a complimentary stay by The Guild and took them up on the offer because we weren’t familiar with the brand and thought readers might want to know about a novel staycation option. There was no agreement that a stay constituted positive coverage, or any coverage for that matter. But here’s a travelogue of our local adventures anyway. You’re welcome.

The Guild offers “discerning travelers the distinctive design and extra space of an Airbnb along with the amenities and attentive service of an upscale boutique hotel,” according to Fares Halaseh, General Manager of the Cincinnati and Nashville locations.
The Guild has rooms in two Cincinnati buildings: The Current at The Banks and The Provident in downtown. The Current location has views of downtown, the Reds stadium and the riverfront.
The kitchen is fully equipped and even offers condiment packages to complete your meals and coffee from local coffee company Deeper Roots.
The dining and kitchen area
The spacious living room and dining space with a view of the stadium
The view from the patio
Our room came with a record player and several records
Bedroom one
The bathroom adjoining the bedroom
Bedroom two, with a patio walk out
The hotel room’s other bathroom. The Guild stocks the bathrooms with toiletries.
If you need something, you can contact The Guild’s mobile concierge — like a hotel
Cocktail supplies and wine chiller
Deeper roots coffee
The Guild rules and information
After getting situated, we walked down to the Moerlein Lager House’s biergarten that overlooks the riverfront
Biergarten overlooking the riverfront
For dinner, we headed to The View at Shires’ Garden, located just a few blocks from the hotel
The View at Shires’ Garden
We had some tasty empanadas for our appetizer
Housemade pappardelle with salmon for dinner
And a half rack of baby back ribs for my partner
Bubbles and a view is a great way to end the evening
Nighttime view from the room was dreamy
In the morning, we walked down to Smale Riverfront Park to soak in some fall views
And swing on the swings for a little while
The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is located just a block from the hotel
Brunch at a Cincinnati staple to follow — Taste of Belgium at The Banks. Cheers!
A spread of our dishes: classic strawberry waffle and a mouthwatering biscuit and gravy with fried chicken and an overeasy egg. After we expressed our love for the later dish to our waitress (the strawberry waffle was also delicious, as always), she mentioned that after she tried it with her husband, she asked for a job there. And I totally get it.
The biscuit and gravy with fried chicken and overeasy egg
The ever-tasty strawberries and cream waffle
Then we headed to our second The Guild hotel location — The Provident on Vine Street
The downstairs lobby was stunning
The Guild will text guests instructions for how to check-in to each location
A self-service snack room was located on the first floor — which we took full advantage of
The one-bedroom hotel room was chic and filled with light even on a somewhat gloomy day
Cozy bedroom
The adjoining bathroom
The room came equipped with a washer and dryer
For dinner at the downtown location, we headed to Arnold’s — a must-visit dinner destination well-known for being the oldest continually operating bar in Cincinnati. The establishment opened in 1861 and offers a killer bourbon selection, live music in the courtyard and incredible dishes by chef Kayla Robison.
We ordered a round of appetizers to share; the Harvest Flatbread, PBJ wings and the Cincy Poutine
For dinner, most of our table opted for various burgers. I had my eye on chef Kayla’s Lamb Pot Pie. It did not disappoint. In fact, I haven’t stopped thinking about it since.
Yo Mama burger
To finish off the staycacation, our plan was to stop at Lalo on Sunday for lunch — one of my favorite spots in the city for tacos. Unfortunately due to some scheduling conflicts, we didn’t make it. But it should be noted that I really, really wanted to.