The Plaza Hotel Columbus at Capitol Square
A high-rise hotel on Capitol Square in downtown Columbus, Ohio, opened in 1984 and operating under its current name since 2024.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
The Plaza Hotel Columbus at Capitol Square is a high-rise hotel located on Capitol Square in downtown Columbus, Ohio. The property forms part of the Capitol Square skyscraper development and occupies a site with an earlier civic and entertainment history: it was formerly home to the Hartman Building and Hartman Theatre. Its construction was undertaken during the Capitol South redevelopment of the 1980s, when the area around the Ohio Statehouse was being reshaped with new commercial and hospitality facilities. The hotel opened on January 16, 1984, as the Hyatt on Capitol Square. Its original Hyatt identity connected the property to an internationally recognized hotel system while positioning it to serve visitors to the state government district, downtown business travelers, convention and event guests, and visitors attending activities in central Columbus. The building’s location on Capitol Square gives it a strong civic and downtown orientation rather than a resort or airport-hotel profile. The property changed hands and brands several times in the 2010s and 2020s. After the hotel entered receivership, Driftwood Hospitality Management acquired it on July 7, 2011, for $19.5 million. Driftwood subsequently converted the hotel to the Sheraton Columbus Hotel at Capitol Square and carried out a year-long renovation costing $9.5 million. That work was completed in January 2013 and represented a significant reinvestment in the property after the change in ownership. In 2016, The Plascensia Group sold the hotel to Schulte Hospitality Group. The property remained associated with the Sheraton name for several additional years, but its ownership and operating context changed again in 2023. The hotel was auctioned that year and sold for $9.6 million to Dallas-based hotelier Joshua Joseph. In 2024, it departed the Sheraton system and adopted the name The Plaza Hotel Columbus at Capitol Square. The hotel is therefore best understood as a single urban lodging property with a changing sequence of operating identities rather than as a broad consumer brand with a large portfolio of products. Its principal offering is guest accommodation, supported by the customary services and facilities associated with a full-service downtown hotel. Public reference material identifies the building, its redevelopment history, ownership changes, major renovation, and brand transitions, but does not provide a complete current inventory of rooms, restaurants, meeting spaces, amenities, rates, or management arrangements. Those details remain unspecified here.
History
The hotel stands on Capitol Square in downtown Columbus, Ohio, within the Capitol Square skyscraper development. Before the present complex was built, the site contained the Hartman Building and Hartman Theatre. Their replacement formed part of the Capitol South redevelopment program, an urban renewal effort associated with the reshaping of the area around the Ohio Statehouse and central Columbus. The property opened on January 16, 1984, as the Hyatt on Capitol Square. From the outset, its location gave it a role as a downtown lodging facility close to government offices, cultural destinations, business activity, and events in the Capitol Square district. It was constructed as part of a larger high-rise project rather than as a standalone suburban or resort hotel. A major ownership and identity transition occurred in 2011. After the hotel entered receivership, Driftwood Hospitality Management acquired it on July 7 of that year for $19.5 million. Driftwood changed the property’s operating identity to the Sheraton Columbus Hotel at Capitol Square and undertook a substantial renovation. The work lasted approximately one year and was completed in January 2013 at a reported cost of $9.5 million. The renovation and reflagging marked the property’s move from its original Hyatt affiliation to the Sheraton system. In 2016, The Plascensia Group sold the hotel to Schulte Hospitality Group. The property continued operating under the Sheraton name during the following period, retaining its association with a major international hotel brand while remaining a single downtown Columbus asset. The hotel changed ownership again in 2023. It was auctioned and sold for $9.6 million to Dallas-based hotelier Joshua Joseph. The transaction represented another significant change in the property’s ownership history and followed the earlier transfer to Schulte Hospitality Group. In 2024, the property left the Sheraton system and was renamed The Plaza Hotel Columbus at Capitol Square. This change ended the hotel’s period under the Hyatt and Sheraton brand identities and established its current standalone name. Available reference material does not identify a broader chain of hotels operating under the Plaza Hotel Columbus name, nor does it specify a current parent hospitality group, detailed management structure, room count, or full list of amenities. The documented history primarily concerns the property’s construction, location, ownership changes, renovation, and successive hotel affiliations.
- 2024
Renamed The Plaza Hotel Columbus at Capitol Square
[1]The hotel left the Sheraton system and adopted its current name.
- 2023
Auction sale to Joshua Joseph
[1]The hotel was auctioned and sold for $9.6 million to Dallas-based hotelier Joshua Joseph.
- 2016
Sale to Schulte Hospitality Group
[1]The Plascensia Group sold the hotel to Schulte Hospitality Group.
- 2013
Sheraton conversion and renovation completed
[1]A year-long, $9.5 million renovation was completed after the hotel was converted from Hyatt on Capitol Square to Sheraton Columbus Hotel at Capitol Square.
- 2011
Acquisition out of receivership
[1]Driftwood Hospitality Management acquired the hotel on July 7, 2011, for $19.5 million.
- 1984
Hotel opens as Hyatt on Capitol Square
[1]The hotel opened on January 16, 1984, as part of the Capitol Square skyscraper development in downtown Columbus.
Products and positioning
A centrally located full-service urban hotel serving downtown Columbus, the Ohio Statehouse and Capitol Square district, business travelers, government-related visitors, event guests, and leisure travelers.
Hotel lodging · 1984
Guest accommodation
The property’s core offering is overnight accommodation in a high-rise downtown hotel on Capitol Square. Public reference material confirms the hotel function but does not specify the current number, configuration, or detailed features of its rooms and suites.
Hotel services
Meeting and event facilities
As a full-service urban hotel in the Capitol Square district, the property offers or has been associated with event-oriented hotel services. The available reference material does not provide a detailed description of the meeting rooms, capacities, or current event packages.
Brand decisions
2024
Exit from Sheraton brandingStrategyBackground
After operating under the Sheraton identity for several years, the property changed its hotel affiliation.
Action taken
The hotel left Sheraton and adopted the name The Plaza Hotel Columbus at Capitol Square.
Aftermath
The property began operating under its current standalone name; the available source does not identify a replacement international chain affiliation.
2013
Conversion to Sheraton and property renovationGeneration changeBackground
Following its acquisition, Driftwood repositioned the former Hyatt property under the Sheraton flag.
Action taken
The hotel was converted into the Sheraton Columbus Hotel at Capitol Square and underwent a year-long renovation.
Aftermath
The renovation was completed in January 2013, establishing the property’s Sheraton-era identity.
Renovation cost. $9.5 million (Completed January 2013)
2011
Acquisition following receivershipM&ABackground
The hotel was in receivership when Driftwood Hospitality Management acquired it in July 2011.
Action taken
Driftwood Hospitality Management purchased the property and assumed its ownership position.
Aftermath
The acquisition was followed by a reflagging to Sheraton and a major renovation completed in January 2013.
Acquisition price. $19.5 million (July 7, 2011)
Sources1 sources
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