Oct. 19–GROTON — Kathy Brown, Groton Inn and Suites’ human resources coordinator, deliberated a bit before choosing a word to describe the 112-room hotel’s state when the current owners took over in February 2013.
Finally, she settled on “aged.”
The hotel’s upkeep had not been a priority for years, Brown said, certainly not after a bank hired professional property managers to run it in the wake of a 2011 foreclosure.
But under Sunil Suthar, an owner who doubles as the hotel’s general manager, that’s all changed. And after 17 years at the property, Brown couldn’t be more upbeat about what lies ahead.
“It’s very exciting,” she said.
The Suthars, a close-knit family that includes Sunil, his parents and a brother — managers of the Krystal Penguin Inn in Charlestown, R.I. — bought Groton Inn & Suites for $3.4 million. Since the purchase, they’ve invested an undisclosed sum on renovations, starting with such behind-the-scenes improvements as a new phone system, a new website, a new kitchen floor and a redo of the back offices. They’ve spruced up the bar, equipping it with TV screens that feature access to all NFL games, and installed new carpeting and lighting in the hallways.
In the rooms, they’ve replaced the beds and installed 39-inch, high-definition TVs. They’ve repainted the hotel’s stucco exterior and introduced new LED lighting and a new logo. They’ve added a fitness room and a business center for guests and put new furniture in the restaurant and new ceiling tiles in the banquet rooms.
“Future plans are big,” said Sunil Suthar, who at 29 is younger than all but one of the hotel’s more than 50 employees.
Over the next couple of years, the owners hope to complete hallway renovations, replace carpeting in the rooms and banquet halls and fix up the front desk.
“I’m very hands on,” said Suthar, a UConn graduate who earned a master’s in business administration at Rutgers. He was general manager at the Days Inn & Suites in Groton when his family acquired Groton Inn & Suites.
“Coming from a small property with 11 rooms (the Krystal Penguin Inn), where you do everything yourself, to a place where you’ve got more than 50 people working for you changes things dramatically,” he said. “At a property like this you’ve got to have a sales and marketing team to fill the rooms … a maintenance staff, a construction team.”
Suthar’s father Sayant visits the property daily. His brother Mitesh is a regular visitor, too. His wife Kavita practices dentistry in Westerly.
Groton Inn & Suites, one of seven hotels and motels within a mile-long stretch of Gold Star Highway (Route 184), caters to guests seeking extended stays. More than half its rooms are suites, including some one- and two-bedroom apartments. Corporate and government employees — and their families, in some cases — make up a large part of the clientele, booking rooms for three to six months, even up to a year.
The hotel’s ability to accommodate families sets it apart from much of its competition, Suthar said. With a ballroom that can accommodate up to 700 people, the hotel also hosts its share of job and health fairs, corporate events and weddings.
“Some of our guests have been coming here for years — shipyard workers, Navy-related people,” Brown, the human resources coordinator, said. “This is like their home away from home.”
b.hallenbeck@theday.com
Twitter: @bjhallenbeck
