After 25 years as the Grand Bohemian Hotel, the boutique tower on South Orange Avenue in downtown Orlando has a new name and a new signature restaurant. The property is now Hotel Beauden, and its longtime dining room, The Boheme, has been reborn as Libra, with the former Bösendorfer Lounge rechristened Bar Libra.
The rebrand, first reported by Orlando Weekly, follows an $18 million overhaul of every guestroom and public space at the 247-room hotel completed in 2024, according to Bungalower. The hotel first opened in April 2001 under founder Richard Kessler's Kessler Collection, operating as the Grand Bohemian for a quarter-century before the name change. The 12-story property sits at 325 S. Orange Ave., adjacent to the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, Kia Center, Church Street, City Hall and Lake Eola Park.
Per Orlando Weekly's reporting, the name Hotel Beauden was inspired by Orlando's designation as “The City Beautiful.” Libra and Bar Libra will celebrate the city's diverse neighborhoods through a culinary program shaped by Hispanic, Floridian and Asian influences, directed by Executive Chef Francisco Sillero.
A Menu Built On Global Flavors
Sillero's menu at Libra balances classic technique with seasonal ingredients and globally inspired flavors, the article notes. Dishes include a smoked crab rangoon dip finished with fried garlic gremolata and crispy wontons, drunken noodles tossed with Gulf shrimp, charred cipollini, snap peas, fried garlic and Thai basil, and smoked lechon glazed in soy with pickled carrots and toasted cashew. Bungalower additionally reports that the menu features seared salmon served with local grains, poblano crema and roasted tomatillo chow chow.
The hotel's lobby now centers on a new mural by American artist Amy Rader titled “The Beautiful Becoming,” which weaves in visual references to Lake Eola, other local lakes and the hotel's gold geometric design pattern, per the same Bungalower account. That swan imagery arrives not long after the City of Orlando decided in July to relocate Lake Eola's remaining captive swan flock following a deadly avian influenza outbreak, a detail Bungalower ties to the hotel's refreshed aesthetic.
Jazz Brunch Stays, With A Steinway On The Way
Bar Libra will continue the hotel's popular Sunday Jazz Brunch, running from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. with a carving station, an omelet station, a cinnamon roll cart, a dessert wall, unlimited mimosas and live piano performances, according to Orlando Weekly. Hotel Beauden has also formed a new partnership with the Steinway Society of Central Florida, which is committed to making music accessible to local children; a Steinway grand piano is set to replace the venue's Bösendorfer this fall.
As part of the broader public-space refresh, the hotel updated its Rotunda gathering space with banquette seating, tea-height tables and stools, new drapery, updated lighting and improved acoustics, according to HotelsEscape. Overnight rates at Hotel Beauden start at $309 per night, and the property allows up to two pets per room under 40 pounds for a $150 non-refundable fee, per the same listing.
Ownership Stays The Same Behind The New Name
The property remains owned by Orlando-based real estate investment trust Xenia Hotels & Resorts, which acquired it in 2012 for $77 million, and is managed by Davidson Hospitality Group through its Pivot lifestyle division, Bungalower reports. The hotel keeps its Marriott Autograph Collection affiliation despite dropping the Grand Bohemian name.
The address has drawn attention beyond its dining scene before. Hoodline once ranked The Boheme among the city's top spots for fine dining and seafood, and the block made headlines again in July when a stray bullet struck a nearby downtown building during a nightlife-district investigation. Whatever comes next for the block, it now arrives under the Hotel Beauden and Libra names rather than the Grand Bohemian identity that defined South Orange Avenue for 25 years.
