The Hilton Wilmington Riverside Hotel has a new outdoor living area.

A recent ribbon cutting officially opened the 2,500-square-foot patio along downtown Wilmington’s Riverwalk, according to a news release from Wilmington Downtown Inc.

The brick-paved patio, complete with outdoor beverage station, offers views of the Cape Fear River and Battleship North Carolina and connects to the hotel’s outdoor swimming pool and indoor banquet facilities, the release stated. Formerly, the area was an unimproved lot.

Karen Morganti, the hotel’s director of sales and marketing, said that it has taken a number of years to get permission from Hilton to create the patio. Now that it is finished, the patio has attracted drop-in visitors as well as hotel guests.

“Already, over Memorial Day weekend we had people stopping in off the boardwalk,” Morganti said. “We’ve been pre-selling it for events and have almost 20 events booked out there already.”

A full pool menu and beverage service is available on the new patio, she said.

“This is an impressive addition to the Riverwalk, the hotel and the entire hospitality industry,” Wilmington Downtown Inc. president and CEO Ed Wolverton said in the release.  “Downtown business leaders are very excited to see this new investment by the Hilton and applaud their vision in adding another great facility along the river.”

The Hilton Wilmington Riverside has 272 guest rooms. Amenities include several restaurants, including Ruth's Chris Steak House and rooms for meetings and banquets.