Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
The oldest and biggest hotel in Kosciusko County wants to regain its position as the best and is going all out to do it.
If you believe the only change Bruce and Steve Shaffner undertook when they bought the old Holiday Inn in Warsaw was the name, think again.
Aside from renaming the hotel "Ramada Inn," the Shaffners have begun renovating nearly every aspect of the 156-room hotel that has been a landmark for motorists passing through Warsaw on U.S. 30 for decades.
The brothers, who owned and operated ViewPoint on the Lake for a decade, purchased the Holiday Inn last winter and moved their operations and three dozen employees from North Detroit Street to the new Ramada on East Center Street.
The renovated hotel will complement the Wagon Wheel Theatre, which the Shaffners own and intend to use more often for concerts and conferences.
An estimated $1.5 million in improvements is literally moving from top to bottom and then inside and out. All of the changes should be complete by late summer, according to Bruce Shaffner.
"It will be the premiere facility when it's complete," he said.
Rooms are getting wholesale changes, including new carpet, furniture and bathroom tile. Several will be redesigned as "junior suites," and others will have all the amenities wanted by business travelers, Shaffner said.
The restaurant - now known as ViewPoint at the Ramada - is already in operation after kitchen appliances were replaced.
The lounge, which 10 years ago attracted standing-room-only crowds for live entertainment, was reconfigured to take advantage of wasted space. Traditional problems with warm beer have been solved with the purchase of a new refrigeration system, and the Shaffners are promising to bring back live and semi-live (karaoke) entertainment.
Even the elevator was reconstructed, at a cost of $40,000, Shaffner said.
Later this summer, the building's exterior will be renovated to include a color scheme that will match Wagon Wheel Theatre.
The renovations come at a time when the area hotel market is becoming more competitive. A Super 8 motel opened this winter and two more hotels have announced intentions to construct in Warsaw.
Shaffner said their extensive renovations would have been done regardless of increasing competition. The level of service connected with the former operations just didn't meet their standards, Shaffner said.
"Putting a new name out there was one of the smartest things we ever have done," Shaffner said.
One of the final improvements will include a new, eye-catching digital marquee.
