Guests at the Country Inn & Suites have a new place to wind down following the completion of a major renovation to the area that used to house the pool, and general manager Michelle Husarski says it's a very relaxing environment.
"It's very calming in here," said Husarski. "I wanted to make it a nice, calming oasis."
The pool is gone, a decision that Husarski said was made because of the difficulties they had with servicing it.
"It was too hard to maintain," she said.
In its place is now a larger hot tub, a sauna and an exercise area with a stationary bike, elliptical trainer and treadmill, as well as numerous chairs and tables for those who just want to kick back with a book or watch the news.
"We finally opened to the public last Monday," Husarski said in a January interview. "I know it's been a long time waiting for it and it's finally here."
Guests have been using the area, known as the recreation centre, from the day it was open. "There have been people in the hot tub," says Husarski. "Mostly in the evenings they use it. Guests can come in after a hard day's work and just take off their shoes and relax."
The renovation involved tearing down the entire area and starting again from scratch, Husarski, says, including rebuilding the area that had been underneath the pool and installing new heating, air conditioning and ventilation systems.
"We ditched it all and started new," she said. "The whole renovation cost about $120,000."
The area is open to all registered guests at the hotel and moving the exercise equipment, which used to be in a separate room, to the hot tub area has also enabled Country Inn & Suites, which Husarski says is usually at full occupancy, to bring another room to market.
