Aug. 26–The Clarion Hotel on Tarentum Bridge Road in New Kensington is undergoing extensive renovations under new ownership that took over in July.

The hotel will transition to a Quality Inn & Suites, which, like Clarion, is part of Choice Hotels, hotel general manager Jeff Stahl said.

Lotus Hotels, the new owner of the Clarion, plans to completely revamp the 113 rooms with new carpeting, beds and furniture and spruce up the outside with new paint, landscaping and parking lot repairs.

“By early spring, we’ll have everything switched over in the rooms,” Stahl said.

He said the hotel will keep most of the rooms open during renovations. Blocks of rooms might be unavailable as upgrades are made, he said.

“We want to get everything ready for the U.S. Open next year,” Stahl said. The Open is being held in June at the Oakmont Country Club.

The hotel has applied to the state Liquor Control Board to obtain a liquor license for the Sports Page bar and grill, which closed because the former lessee decided not to continue operations under the new ownership, Stahl said.

Lotus Hotels intends to grow the banquet hall side of the hotel through upgrades to the facility and better marketing.

“We saw a huge upside in terms of the hotel itself,” said Akash “AK” Bhatt, a partner in Lotus Hotels, an affiliate of Divine Light Real Estate, which bought the Clarion for $1.9 million. “It’s doing a decent business right now, and we saw an upside where we can make improvements that should add potential new revenue.”

The hotel employs about 40 people, Bhatt said. Stahl said he doesn’t anticipate many more employees being hired.

The transition to Quality Inn should be complete by the end of the year, Stahl said. A new sign has been ordered.

The switch is about brand recognition, he said. There are about 100 Clarion Hotels across the country, but there are thousands of Quality Inns, he said.

New Kensington Mayor Tom Guzzo said he believes the renovated facility will have a positive economic impact.

“I think the improvements will enhance not only the place itself, but it will be more inviting to a lot of different people,” he said.

Jodi Weigand is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 724-226-4702 or [email protected].