GuestHouse renovating to become Best Western Plus

A major face-lift is in the works for the GuestHouse Inn &Suites as it transitions to a Best Western Plus franchise, owner Jasvir Dhaliwal said Friday.

The hotel at 701 E. Heron St., whose contract with the Tennessee-based GuestHouse brand has expired, has called itself the Aberdeen Hotel for the duration of the renovation period, which is expected to last until May 15, Dhaliwal said.

Dhaliwal announced the switch in January 2014 after solidifying the franchise with Best Western. The renovations began in January of this year.

The changes, Dhaliwal said, will include every one of the building’s 87 rooms. All of the furniture, lighting, carpet, paint and drapes will be changed in the bedrooms, halls and lobby.

The new lobby will also get new chandeliers, lighting, furniture and an automated sliding door. The breakfast area will get a new counter and cabinets.

The bathrooms will be outfitted with new tiles, lights and quartz-top vanities. The equipment in the hotel’s exercise room will also be replaced, and the room will grow from 260 square feet to just more than 300 square feet.

“We will change everything in the hotel,” Dhaliwal said. “Whatever you can think of in the room will be new.”

The hotel will remain open throughout the renovation process, Angel Housden, the hotel’s general manager, said Thursday.

Dhaliwal added that the work is being done with local contractors, and he is overseeing it himself. Richard Nicole Designs, a Lake Tapps-based hotel design firm, designed the new interiors and will provide the furniture, Dhaliwal said.

The desire to bring the hotel to a higher standard, Dhaliwal added, prompted the switch. Best Western Plus serves as the hotel chain’s middle-tier line, between Best Western and Best Western Premier.

“Best Western is a lot more popular chain with a higher standard,” Dhaliwal said. “The whole city relies on this hotel, so we needed a higher standard.”

Dhaliwal added that he’s received positive feedback from the hotel’s regular visitors.

The hotel, according to the Grays Harbor County Assessor, was built in 1999. Dhaliwal spent more than $6 million when he bought it in 2006. The entire property is valued at $4.8 million.