Buffalo News: Owners provide early look at hotel
After $7 million renovation, the Inn on the River to open as Four Points by Sheraton early next year
“We came in with the idea of completely renovating it,” said Faisal Merani, owner of LaSalle Hospitality Inc. “A lot of the other owners came in and just wanted to do something that was minor, cosmetic. They didn’t want to spend the money.”
The renovation, overseen by Waterbourne Construction Advisors, will feature a banquet hall and restaurant with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the river, an outdoor patio and updated rooms.
Contractors have replaced the roof of the building, installed new windows and stripped interior walls down to the concrete and steel during the last three months.
Merani and his father, Ashak Merani, acquired the hotel at 7001 Buffalo Ave. last year, along with the closed Fallside Hotel and Conference Center at 401 Buffalo Ave.
The Meranis — who also own a recently upgraded Holiday Inn on Buffalo Avenue, as well as Days Inn & Suites and the Sterling Inn&Spa in Niagara Falls, Ont. — said they see a demand for quality hotel rooms on the New York side of the river.
Business at the Holiday Inn on Buffalo Avenue has been steadily increasing since they bought the property in 2005, Faisal Merani said. The renovated Four Points by Sheraton, Merani said, will feature a pool and docking for boats in the river.
The city, he said, is “on an upswing.”
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