Old Fourth Ward / BeltLine Eastside Trail

FORTH Hotel and Club Atlanta

★★★★★

FORTH is the BeltLine hotel for travelers who want to splurge on one stay that does everything. It opened in 2024 at 800 Rankin Street in the Old Fourth Ward, right beside the Eastside Trail, as a sixteen-story tower that calls itself a vertical resort: hotel rooms and suites, private residences, a members social club and an unusually large wellness program stacked in one building. Rooms are residential in feel, with floor-to-ceiling windows, calm neutral palettes and generous bathrooms, and some have terraces, a few with outdoor fireplaces; the higher floors look across the BeltLine and the Midtown and downtown skylines. Dining is a strength. Il Premio, an Italian steakhouse, is one of the city's most talked-about dinner reservations; Elektra serves Mediterranean food beside the pool; Bar Premio is an all-day café for coffee and light meals; and Moonlight, the rooftop cocktail lounge, is one of the best places in Atlanta for a drink with a view. The wellness floors include a full spa with saunas and cold plunge, two levels of fitness space with high-end equipment and dozens of classes a week, and the pool deck. The hotel holds a Michelin Key, and service is polished. The drawbacks are price, a members-club atmosphere that can feel exclusive, limits on non-guest pool access and a wellness center closed to guests under 16. Fit: couples, wellness-minded travelers and anyone who wants the BeltLine, Ponce City Market and Krog Street Market on foot from a luxury base.

The Old Fourth Ward, the neighborhood where Martin Luther King Jr. was born, has been transformed over the past fifteen years by the Eastside Trail, Historic Fourth Ward Park and Ponce City Market, and FORTH is the first true luxury hotel built to serve it. Its design aims for the feel of a private residence rather than a convention hotel, and the social club gives the public spaces an energetic, local crowd. Guests share the club and restaurants with members and residents, which makes the building feel lived in, and the hotel's events calendar ranges from tastings to talks. For travelers used to Buckhead or downtown luxury, it is a different kind of Atlanta stay: walkable, neighborhood-driven and focused on food and wellness.

Room strategy: book a high-floor room facing west for the skyline at sunset, or a terrace room if you want outdoor space; residences with kitchens suit longer stays. Reserve Il Premio well ahead, especially on weekends, and plan an evening drink at Moonlight. Book spa treatments in advance and check the class schedule for the fitness floors, which are a real perk. Families are welcome, but note the age limit on the wellness center and the grown-up atmosphere around the pool.

Location logic: step out onto the Eastside Trail and walk north to Ponce City Market in a few minutes, or south past Krog Street Market toward Inman Park. The MLK National Historical Park and Sweet Auburn are a short walk or ride southwest, Piedmont Park is a pleasant walk north along the trail, and downtown and Midtown are a short rideshare away. Most guests will not need a car. Fit: couples, special occasions and travelers who value food and wellness over conventional luxury.