Rehabilitation of Historic Cavalier Hotel

The Cavalier Hotel, built in 1927, is a Virginia Beach icon and the last of the grand hotels overlooking the Virginia Beach coastline. After an all-encompassing endeavor into historic preservation, the building that was once threatened by neglect and demolition is once again a gem welcoming guests to the city’s oceanfront.

The historic main floor, which was very much intact but neglected, was painstakingly restored employing crafts-persons to restore windows, ornamental plaster work, wood moldings, paneling and terrazzo flooring. A craft bourbon distillery, new spa, fitness center, and the refurbished historic Hunt Room now fill the lower floor, which was closed to the public for years, with activity. Refurbishing the iconic indoor pool included the restoration of the steel truss framing supporting the skylight. Re-conceiving the guest tower allows the hotel to offer 87 rooms, a quarter of which are suites with expansive ocean views.

Exterior rehabilitation included extensive work on the brick masonry and cast stone ornament and also safeguarding the steel structure that lies beneath. To assure the steel frame would be protected, Hanbury performed water tests on the masonry to determine the extent of necessary repair and to limit the amount of disruption to the masonry skin. A variety of structural steel repairs strengthen and maintain the integrity of the building’s frame.