The guest rooms inside Nelson's iconic Hume Hotel are getting a makeover.
With renovations going on during the shoulder seasons, the hotel's general manager Ryan Martin expects it will take three years to complete the five-phase project, starting on the top floor of the hotel and working down, redoing every room along the way, as well as the spa and lobby.
"Every room is being completely gutted and rebuilt," Martin said.
That means redoing the walls and flooring, putting in all new furniture, mattresses and bedding, and replacing the bathroom facilities. As well, the new rooms have flat screen tvs, improved sound insulation and, something patrons have been asking for a long time: air conditioning.
"We've never had air conditioning in our guest rooms, so for about seven weeks in the summer they get almost unbearably hot, and we need to provide fans to cool them down," Martin said. "It will be nice to finally offer in-room temperature controls. It's a pretty basic thing that most other hotels have."
The Hume guest rooms haven't seen any major renovations in the three decades since Martin's parents, David and Sheila, bought the heritage hotel at the corner of Ward and Vernon streets.
The Martins also own the Best Western, in the 100 block of Baker Street. They finished renovating that hotel in 2011 before turning their attention to the Hume.
"One thing I've got to give my parents credit for: whenever they do things, they want to do it right," Martin said. "They could have easily said, 'slap a coat of paint on the rooms and leave it for another year,' but you can only do that for so long, and we agreed it was time for a change."
The first phase of renovations at the Hume ran from April and June, when 14 rooms were upgraded. The second phase, which includes redoing seven rooms, started in October and is expected to wrap up by Christmas. Both phases focus on rooms on the fourth floor.
The Martins worked with local interior designer David Dobie to help maintain the heritage style in the rooms.
"It's always a delicate balance between maintaining the heritage charm we're known for, but also having some the technology people expect," Martin said. "I think our hotel guests are going to be really pleased with the change."