Southern Soho Boutique Hotel, located at 161 Colonial Drive, was given an official welcome to Oxford with a special ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday, November 5, 2025.

Owner Vilish Patel explained when the corporate entity the location was previously connected with caused a lack of customer interest, the ensuing process led to the decision to become a totally local and independent venue with the unique attraction of having themed rooms from which guests could choose.

“There aren’t that many of these around the country,” Patel said. “The new generation is out and about exploring and wanting something different than most hotels normally have.”

Manager Brian Breedwell joined with fellow room designers Robert Wilson and Jessica Rush to create 28 themed rooms based on interests as varied from horror movies to patriotism.

“When our guests choose our pink room, which is dedicated to cancer patients, a portion of those fees will be donated annually to the American Cancer Society. We have a purple room, representing Parkinson’s Disease, that will have a portion of its fees donated to the Michael J. Fox Foundation,” Breedwell said. “It is still being determined which veteran group to donate fees to from the patriotic room.”

These rooms all have furniture which has been handcrafted on site showing the level of attention to detail not found in many of the large chain hotels, and Breedwell said every time a new room is designed the goal is to make them even better.

“Sooner or later, the designs for these hotels become standard,” said Mayor Alton Craft. “I never imagined this is what you had created. This definitely makes you unique. This gives a whole new meaning to staying in a hotel and we appreciate you bringing this to Oxford.”

For more information about Southern Soho Boutique Hotel, phone 256-835-2170; email at thesouternsoho@gmail.com; or visit the website at southernsoho.com. Customers are also welcome to visit anytime at their lobby open 24 hours a day.