Noun

Photos by: Mark Doescher

Upscale Elegance

Norman’s unique, boutique hotel opens to the public

BY: TIM WILLERT

Scott Lambert grinned from ear to ear as he welcomed about 150 investors, community leaders and other guests to his new hotel on Campus Corner.

Lambert’s dream, inspired by wife Christine, a Norman native, was close to coming true.

“Since 1991, I’ve been wanting to build a hotel,” he said. “I noticed that OU didn’t have an on-campus hotel.”

NOUN, a four-story boutique hotel at 542 S. University Blvd., is the first of its kind within walking distance of the University of Oklahoma.

The hotel opened to the public Sept. 22. It operated at limited capacity for three weeks before that.

Lambert, NOUN’s managing general partner, is a California native. He moved to Tulsa in 1996. Two years later, the couple started a company based in Los Angeles and Dallas that specializes in elevator interiors.

NOUN is short for north of the university. The title also references OU, along with a covered wagon parked outside the hotel entrance. Norman is near and dear to the Lambert family. Christine Lambert and two of the couple’s three sons graduated from OU. The other son attends the university now.

“We just want to bring people together,” Scott Lambert said. “We want to come together and have fun together.” T

here’s an elegance to NOUN that Lambert calls a “comfortable sophistication.”

He points to his inspiration, or muse, for the hotel -- a 32-year-old married mother of one who is smart and physically fit and wants to get away with her girlfriends for the weekend.

“She comes here, has a glass of red wine in a thin rimmed glass and just enjoys a great conversation,” he said.

When the hotel was under construction, Lambert had a “tough decision to make” he would often ask “what would the muse like?”

“We picked that person because my wife is 55 years old and wants to be a 32-year-old woman, and the 22-year old young lady wants to be that 32-year-old woman,” he said. “That 32-year-old woman makes all the decisions in her group. We purposely built the hotel for that person.”

NOUN features 92 modern guest rooms, including two suites that are sold out for each of OU’s home football games, according to Melissa Stephens, the hotel’s assistant general manager.

The rooms include king or double queen beds, walk-in showers, Italian linen sheets and custom artwork.

The hotel’s grand opening coincided with OU’s Big 12 Conference home opener against Kansas State.

The game day experience is enhanced by One Bar, NOUN’s second-story bar with indoor and patio seating that overlooks the west end of Campus Corner and the north end of the university.

Bench seating and firepits on the One Bar patio are designed to “create conversation,” Lambert said.

Behind the bar is a private room modeled after a speakeasy, illicit nightclubs that were popular during prohibition. Patrons who rent the space can “order drinks through a window in the wall,” Stephens said.

Boyd House, the official residence of OU President Joseph Harroz Jr., is close by, as are numerous restaurants, bars and shops.

Harroz is among those who have toured the new hotel. Lambert said the president told him it “exceeded his expectations.” Many who attended a “sneak peek” of the hotel on Sept. 15, were also pleased.

“It’s an impressive open concept,” Sara Coonce said. “Simple, with beautifully curated community centers and an eye for fine details.”

Guest Denny Lee called NOUN “a welcoming home away from home.”

Greg Wood said the hotel “is about to change the way people think about Norman.”

“It finally going to be a destination,” he said.

Supper Club, the hotel’s bistro-style restaurant, is located on the first floor and offers seasonal dishes and craft cocktails.

NOUN includes approximately 3,900 square feet of meeting space and features a lobby that is three times larger than one built for a hotel of similar size, Lambert said.

“We want people to enjoy each other’s company,” he said.

Lambert promises patrons an “elevated experience” in both “feel and service.”

“The NOUN is about people, place and ideas,” he said. “We truly want to please the community and OU.”

General Manager Ronnie Krodel said NOUN will deliver a “very unique experience.”

“There’s nothing like this until you get to downtown Oklahoma City,” he said. “On game days, it’s OU, OU, OU. And then on non-game days it’s a boutique, up-scale experience.” – BSM