Holiday Inn Remains Closed from Broken Elevator
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — It has been almost three weeks since broken elevators temporarily closed the Holiday Inn & Suites, and the hotel is still working to meet code compliance.
The hotel at 1 West Street has been closed since Sept. 25, after its last working elevator of three broke down. The 101 Restaurant & Bar, located within the Holiday Inn, also has temporarily shut its doors while repairs are ongoing.
The day of the shutdown had emergency personnel carrying people who use mobility devices down stairs.
“We were called there a couple of Fridays ago. There was no working elevator. There were EMTs and the fire department there, and they were getting over half a dozen people down the stairs that were in wheelchairs and walkers,” Building Commissioner Rian Dowd told iBerkshires on Wednesday.
“So with the no working elevators, we shut the building down.”
The central downtown, 12-story hotel has nearly 180 guest rooms. Massachusetts requires public multi-level buildings and facilities to have elevator access.
Dowd said the Holiday Inn is still working with the elevator company and state inspectors to be certified and reopen. They were told to provide the City of Pittsfield with a timeline, work orders, and contracts from repairs so that everyone can be on the same page and the hotel can open as quickly as possible, she said.
“We have not heard anything from them yet this week,” she reported.
iBerkshires’ attempts to reach a representative from the Holiday Inn were unsuccessful.
There were no passengers in the elevator when it stopped working; how it broke was not disclosed.
The 101 Restaurant & Bar, owned by John and Tucker McNinch, will need to remain closed until access is restored.
"We talked a lot with the fire department and the mayor, and we had a big meeting on Friday, and until the elevator's fixed, and there's some other things going on in the hotel that need to be addressed, until those items have been addressed, the whole hotel is going to be shut down,” Dowd reported.
The 1972 building, formerly known as the Crowne Plaza, also needed a water pump changed for the sprinkler system and lighting on a couple of egresses.
The Holiday Inn recently demolished its crumbling parking garage and is replacing it with a smaller one.
Tags: elevator, hotels, motels, hotels, Pittsfield,
