March 09–Garden Plaza Hotel & Suites, a dated eyesore and the first building visitors see after crossing the Alabama 31 bridge into Decatur, is undergoing a major facelift.
Chad Udovich, general manager of the hotel, which will become the DoubleTree by Hilton Decatur Riverfront, said phase one of renovations will cost more than $1 million.
Renovations include removing exterior guest rooms, new lighting, stone features around the building, painting, exterior architecture work, new windows and signage.
“The hotel will be fully operational the whole time,” Udovich said. “No guest will be impacted while we do this.” He said guests would be placed in areas of the hotel that are not being renovated.
Udovich anticipated phase two renovations, which will be guest room renovations, to begin within three weeks.
Forty guest rooms will be eliminated, bringing the total from 205 to 165.
The number of suites will increase from 22 to 25 suites.
The hotel’s parking lot will be resurfaced and painted in April or May, depending on weather.
Cooper Hotels of Memphis figured it was cheaper to renovate than start over.
“Because of the high quality of the original construction, the building is very sound and in excellent condition,” said David Cooper, executive vice president of Cooper Hotels. “Without this literally built-in advantage, we could not afford, nor do we believe anyone else could afford, building from the ground up as the room rates would not support the development costs.”
The hotel has stood more than 40 years as a Holiday Inn and has been host to some of the community’s largest events.
The venue has been the main community gathering place for events such as Monday Rotary Club meetings and was the largest meeting facility in town until Ingalls Harbor Pavilion was built in 2012.
It opened as Pavilion Inn, then became Holiday Inn in 1973.
The hotel was last renovated in 2005.
Renovations to guest rooms and suites will include new furniture, bedding, wall covering, carpet, window treatment and the addition of a refrigerator, microwave oven and 46-inch flat screen HDTV.
“One of the neat features is we are going to be building a bridge in the atrium that connects the second floor with the other side of the second floor,” Udovich said.
On top of the second-floor bridge will be a 900-square-foot fitness center that overlooks the pools. There also will be a putting range in the atrium.
Bathrooms will be redesigned and refurbished.
And the hotel’s meeting facilities, fitness center and pool area will receive makeovers.
The hotel will feature a new restaurant with a full bar and Starbucks kiosk. The hotel’s current lunch buffet is popular with patrons from throughout the area.
Leah Cayson can be reached at 256-340-2445 or leah.cayson@decaturdaily.com. Follow on Twitter @DD_Leah.
