A Trio of Historic Hotel Renovations

NATIONAL REPORT—From Las Vegas to Texas to the East Coast, these properties are honoring historic roots with recent updates to guestrooms, public spaces and the addition of energy-efficient features. Here’s a look at three renovations:

Historic Vegas Property to Undergo Update

The historic El Cortez Hotel and Casino located in downtown Las Vegas is set to undergo another round of renovations valued at $6 million. Four floors and a total of 64 rooms will receive a makeover and will be re-branded under the Tower Premium room classification. This is phase two of a multimillion-dollar renovation of the El Cortez tower. The first five floors and 73 rooms were completed in late 2018. The latest round of renovations will incorporate various modifications solely based on customer feedback over the past several months. The refreshed rooms will offer warm, modern design blended with a bit of whimsy while incorporating a splash of Spanish Colonial Revival-style. Highlights of the redesigned rooms include black-and-white floor tiles, traditional style rugs, carved wood details and modern accent furniture. The rich tones in the fabric and the vintage Las Vegas inspired artwork will give the room a timeless and comfortable feel. The new Tower Premium rooms are scheduled to be completed by September.

Plaza Hotel El Paso Undergoes Sustainability Focused Revitalization 

The Plaza Hotel, a historic Art Deco 19-story hotel built in 1930 in downtown El Paso, TX will be undergoing a multimillion-dollar rehabilitation. The hotel has been out of service since the 1990s. The rehabilitation project is utilizing Texas’ Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program to finance a portion of the project through a special property assessment. Greenworks Lending will provide more than $9 million in capital through the program, which deems energy efficient projects as public goods. Once complete, the hotel will include 131 guestrooms, a full-service restaurant, a rooftop bar and 7,600 sq. ft. of meeting space. The rehabilitation will preserve the hotel’s Art Deco Pueblo Revival design by architect Henry Trost. The improvements being financed by C-PACE are projected to generate approximately $254,000 of annual utility cost savings for the hotel. The overall renovation is a $76-million project, which will be managed by Jordan Foster Construction. There will be energy efficient upgrades, which will include updated energy efficient HVAC, elevator and lighting systems as well as water-saving plumbing fixtures.

Boar’s Head Resort Reveals Completed Renovations

The historic Boar’s Head Resort in Charlottesville, VA has completed a multimillion-dollar re-imagination of the property, which includes a full renovation of the restaurant, bar, main entrance and lobby. Keeping traditional elements intact, the upgrades provide enhancements that add modern character to the historic inn. The updates, designed by Johnson Studio at Cooper Carry of Atlanta, include a relocation of the main entrance and porte cochère. Along with the lobby and entrance renovations, Johnson Studio transformed the hotel’s Old Mill Room restaurant, now known as The Mill Room. Complementing the physical changes, the restaurant has an entirely new locally inspired menu. The resort also worked with local organization, Babylon Micro-Farms, to transform its historic Trout House into a hydroponic garden that will provide fresh produce for the resort’s restaurants. Owned and operated by the University of Virginia Foundation, Boar’s Head Resort has 175 guestrooms, a spa, sports club, golf course and is part of Historic Hotels of America.