Have you ever gotten your house in order, picked up, cleaned up and fixed up before guests arrive? We know the feeling. At The Chippewa Hotel, and our sister hotel, The Lilac Tree Suites & Spa, there’s a lot going on this winter while we get ready for our guests (like you) to arrive this Spring and Summer to make your stay perfect. So what do seven guys and two painters do here in winter?
Tons.
Start by cleaning every square inch of carpeting and furniture and remove and replace numerous rooms with new carpeting. Then, build six new vanities for the rest of the rooms facing Main Street at the Chippewa, install privacy doors in the two-bedroom suites, and replace the shutters on the East side and install new high profile toilets in all Chippewa rooms.
The crew repaints the Lilac Tree rooms with new paint colors to give it a fresh, new look, order and Install new gutters, take down some borders that look a bit dates, and both hotels have their exteriors power washed. Yes, it gets cold! Now, It’s Pink Pony time and there’s lots of work under way.
Or our crew’s version of Yachts and Yachts of fun! We’re building and installing three new booths in the front section, repairing bar stools- yes, they get used a lot and installing 12 new draft lines. Beer break! Fill ‘er up! Next, clean all kitchen equipment like new, tear out and rebuild a new, efficient wait station area, install a much needed circulation fan in the prep area and replace stair safety treads as needed. But, there’s still more to do so the crew moves to the patio area for repairs which includes the middle set of stairs plus repairing and replacing the patio bar trim.
We take a lot of pride in how we treat our guests but also how we treat and care for our dedicated staff because we simply couldn’t do it all without them. St. Cloud is our employee housing and we constantly improve it so after a hard day at work, our team can come home to a great housing situation. We’re in the process of installing new satellite TV’s and flat screens, wireless internet, remodeling the bathrooms and laundry rooms as well as upgrading wiring and the sprinkler protection systems.
Whew! Believe it or not, even with all of this work, this is a light year in comparison to our previous eight years. Our crew will be taking a much needed vacation from mid-February to mid-March to rejuvenate for the upcoming season. Just in time because that’s when you’ll be returning for another visit with us so you can rejuvenate with your family and friends on beautiful Mackinac Island.
As you can see, we’re getting our house in order and looking forward to seeing you again.
There’s much work to be done so until next time……..
George Piliouras for The Chippewa Hotel
