O.Henry will have some renovated rooms ready for golf tournament week
by: John Brasier, Triad Business Journal
April 8, 2018
Renovations in some guest rooms at one of the premier hotels in the Triad will be ready for upscale travelers and corporate visitors next week when the PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship comes to Greensboro.
Dennis Quaintance, CEO of Quaintance-Weaver Restaurant and Hotels, told Triad Business Journal that the 11 guest rooms on the first two floors of the O.Henry Hotel will be renovated and ready – some minor tweaks will be made later – for the week-long events, capped by the 72-hole tournament Aug. 16 to 19 at Sedgefield Country Club’s Donald Ross course.
“Once we started, we found more things we wanted to do,” Quaintance told TBJ. “There are still some amenities to come.”
Quaintance said the complete $3.5 million – up from his original estimate of around $2 million TBJ reported in December – renovation of the 8-story, 130-room hotel is expected in time for the hotel’s 20th anniversary Nov. 23, though completion of the final two floors could be delayed until next year. The renovations are done one floor at a time.
O.Henry and its sister hotel, Proximity, were ranked No. 9 and No. 13 in North Carolina, respectively, this year by U.S. News & World Report. The two Greensboro hotels and the Kimpton Cardinal in Winston-Salem, No. 12 in the U.S. News rankings, also earned AAA Four Diamonds Awards this year.
When completed, O.Henry guest rooms will have totally different looks with hand-painted clouds on the ceilings, new carpeting, paint and totally remodeled bathrooms. Guests will be able to control many of the rooms’ state-of-the-art electronics with their phones. Lamps will be equipped with different bulbs for varying light.
Some structural changes were made as well. The ceiling on the second floor was raised 21 inches. Quaintance said some costly plumbing improvements were made. The fitness room on the first floor was expanded, taking away one previous guest room.
The new bathrooms will have expanded showers, raised bathtubs with a new shelf against the black-and-white tile wall and a support railing. Speakers above the door will provide sound. Custom-made toilet paper holders will provide a spot to put cell phones. The black-and-white tile was a tribute to Charles Hartmann, who designed the original O.Henry Hotel in 1919.
Quaintance said the goal is to provide all the available modern conveniences while maintaining the hotel’s Gilded Age charm.
The renovation project includes hallways and other common areas. The hallways will have new paintings, picture lights and furniture.
“The modern stuff is in the periphery, not in your face,” he said.
Quaintance-Weaver spent about $2 million on renovations at O.Henry prior to the hotel’s 15th anniversary.