The doors of NC State’s newest enterprise opened for business on Wednesday, when the long-awaited StateView Hotel welcomed the first guests to its Centennial Campus location, after some eight years of planning and construction.

Adjacent to the Park Alumni Center and Lake Raleigh and across the street from the Lonnie Poole Golf Course, the hotel offers 90 king-sized rooms, 70 double-double rooms and three suites, along with a bar, a full-service restaurant and 10,000 square feet in its eight meeting rooms.

The StateView is Raleigh’s first hotel in Marriott’s Autograph Collection Hotels, which includes more than 100 unique high-end properties worldwide. It is also silver-level Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified, meaning it rates high in energy efficiency and sustainability.

There’s no denying it’s an NC State property, either.

Every corner of the brick, stone and stainless steel hotel is appointed with a touch of Wolfpack red, with particular nods to the College of Engineering, the College of Textiles and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Each guest room is called a “den,” and multiple depictions of wolves lurk around every corner. The 98-seat Beaker & Flask restaurant uses those two lab accessories as its flower vases.

Howling Cow ice cream is a featured treat for meeting breaks at the two large outdoor receptions areas.

Academic-themed specialty drinks at the bar include the Professor, the Practicum and the Grad Student.

And two kinds of beer from NC State’s own brewery will be available, along with selections from other local brewers.

The high-tech hotel is designed to host academic conferences and other special events, such as athletics championships, and bookings are already scheduled through December 2018.

Room rates range from $239 for standard rooms to $750 for the presidential suite, but NC State visitors qualify for special rates. Reserve rooms through The StateView website.

This post was originally published in NC State News.