Clayton's Daniele nears reopening as a Hampton Inn

CLAYTON A $15 million renovation that included the addition of a fifth floor has transformed the tired, 1960s Daniele Hotel into a contemporary Hampton Inn and Suites.

The hotel is scheduled to open next Friday as a Hampton Inn nearly two years after Equis Hospitality Management bought the empty Daniele for $2.5 million in late 2012. Mike Mullenix, chairman and chief executive of Equis, said Friday the remodeling required a total renovation.

The only things we saved were the exterior walls, he said.

Adding a fifth floor upped the hotels room count from 82 to 106, including 25 suites. Nightly rates will range from about $149 to $209.

Opened in 1964 at 216 North Meramec Avenue, the hotel as the Daniele was at times a celebrity hangout, said Mullenix, adding that Cher, Rod Stewart and the Rolling Stones stayed there.

The Daniele closed in 2007 as part of a renovation plan by its then owner, Conrad Properties. That plan fizzled as the hotel business nosedived along with the rest of the economy during the Great Recession.

As a Hampton Inn, the hotel is joint venture between Brentwood-based Equis and Rockbridge Capital, of Columbus, Ohio. HBD Construction handled the renovation, which included the rebuilding of deteriorated parts of the buildings basement parking garage.

New features include an enclosed saltwater pool, a fitness center, a meeting room able to accommodate about 40 people and a bar facing Meramec.

Mullenix and Mohammed Kashif, the Hampton Inns general manager, said weekday business will come from corporate customers. Such business will skew toward leisure travel by people visiting friends and relatives in the Clayton area.

Mullenix said he knew when Equis bought the Daniele that it was a good location for a hotel but that his company needed time to determine its best use.

See original here:
Clayton's Daniele nears reopening as a Hampton Inn