Time flies when you are a successful downtown St. Joseph hotel overlooking Lake Michigan.
It was 1988 when The Boulevard Inn opened its doors—more than 35 years ago at 521 Lake Boulevard. Owner Mark Whitwam is looking back this week on that heritage of anchoring the South end of the St. Joseph downtown district. And he’s launching The Boulevard’s next chapter, with the start of a $ 3.5 Million dollar renovation project. It’s scheduled to be complete by May 1 for the start of the busy tourist season and the final appearance of the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship on Memorial Day Weekend.
In the hotel industry, they call it a ‘refresh.’. But this one will be pretty extensive. All guest rooms on all seven floors, all carpet, wall coverings, most upholstery and those ‘badges of the 80s’—the ‘popcorn ceilings.’ Essentially, everything that’s public facing on floors two through seven will have a new look, a fresh face.
Whitwam told us there have been several ‘refreshes’ along the way, but, in his words, “It was time.. Some guests were beginning to suggest we had a ‘dated’ feel to our décor. They don’t want that, and we don’t want that.”
Whitwam explained that the hotel design consultants he engaged on the project, New Look Renovations, immediately saw an opportunity to tie the Boulevard’s lakefront location more closely to the room design and décor. Guests can expect a much brighter, colorful, contemporary feel to the newly decorated rooms when completed.
Another hotel innovation guests may have encountered in other resort locations will be added to the Boulevard lobby. It’s a ‘market’ with a variety of convenient 24/7 food and beverage items, personal needs and seasonal merchandise that might assist guests to enjoy nearby Silver Beach or other attractions. The lobby and Bistro restaurant won’t undergo drastic changes, as there have been continual updates in those areas over the years.
Boulevard General Manager Rita Downey is working closely with the construction managers to assure that existing hotel guests are not inconvenienced or disrupted during the renovation. The project manager has assured her that they’ll focus on one floor at a time as much as possible. She said there may be some minor parking issues, but they should be manageable since it’s not the tourist season.
The Boulevard is unusual among hotels in that it is an ‘All Suite’ property and it is an ‘independent’—not part of a national chain or hotel brand. Every room is actually two rooms: a sitting area and a bedroom. Cityview suites overlook downtown St. Joseph. Parkview suites overlook Lake Bluff Park and Lake Michigan—arguably one of the best hotel settings in West Michigan. Most people probably don’t know that on the top floor, the seventh floor, there are two huge suites—more than 1,200 square feet each. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, large sitting area and a full kitchen in each. Mark Whitwam explained they were originally built for Whirlpool and long-term leased to the company ‘back in the day.’ Now, they are available to the public and have been popular in recent years with guests looking for very special accommodations on Lake Michigan in St. Joseph.
The project manager for New Look Renovations, Kris Custer, told us the Boulevard renovation is an especially fun and exciting project for his company. He explained that the goal is not to make it look and feel just like a hundred other Fairfield or Hilton or Wyndham properties. Instead, they have been given the freedom to create a unique and special décor and ambiance that will underline the Boulevard’s singular setting and the St. Joseph/Lake Michigan environment.
Whitwam, Downey, and the Boulevard team say they are eager to show off the results to the community later this Spring.
Artist Renderings of newly-refreshed Boulevard suites, by New Look Renovations & GBA Architecture & Design
By Gayle Olson, MOTM Contributor
