PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Crowne Plaza will transition into a Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites.

 

General Manager Charles Burnick said the licensing agreement with Intercontinental Hotels Group to operate as a Crowne Plaza has expired and the decision was made to renovate the entire building to become a Holiday Inn. IHG operates both Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn brands.

 

Work on the $2 million to $3 million renovation project is expected to start this spring and conclude by late summer, early fall.

 

"I would say the actual work would start by March 1," Burnick said. "We'd like to be done before the summer season ends."

 

The renovation will reduce the hotel's total number of rooms by 13, from 179 to 166, but will feature 26 total suites, up from just two currently.

 

"It'll be a nice change. We'll be able to do more extended stays for business," Burnick said, adding that the rooms will feature kitchens and nicer amenities than the standard rooms. 

 

The meeting spaces will receive makeovers and the restaurant will see an overhaul and new theme, Burnick said. Furniture throughout will be replaced. 

 

"The restaurant will get a total, new look and menu," Burnick said.

 

The work will hit the standards set to be a Holiday Inn. But in the meantime, the hotel will operate as Berkshire Plaza Hotel.

 

Burnick said the property management systems associated with the Crowne Plaza will still be operational during the months of a transition, so anyone booking rooms will still be able to earn reward points as if it was still operating as a Crowne Plaza.

 

"They're still going to support us. We hope to keep the majority of our regular customers," Burnick said. 

 

The general manager has been through two prior renovations of the 14-story hotel. He said the construction work will cause minimal impact on the hotel's operations this summer. Work will be isolated to a few floors at a time and rooms will be booked with intent of keeping customers away from where the work is ongoing. 

 

"We do have a good plan with minimal impact as possible," he said. "We're still going to hold the events we have booked."

 

The hotel, overlooking Park Square, has been a landmark in the city for more than 40 years. It had been a Hilton before transitioning into a Crowne Plaza. The previous owners had the hotel foreclosed on by Santander Bank and the hotel was sold at auction for $1.1 million to Anil Sachdev.