The new owners of the Holiday Inn Southwest & Viking Conference Center in Sunset Hills, Mo., will change its name to Holiday Inn Route 66. They also will spend millions of dollars on renovations, including restoring the motel’s early 1970s architecture, reported the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Amrit and Amy Gill, who renovated the historic Hotel Blackhawk in Davenport, Iowa, and have renovated commercial and residential properties in several St. Louis neighborhoods, detailed their plans for the Sunset Hills motel.
Meeting rooms will be named for cars — including Cadillac, Monte Carlo and Riviera — to remind customers of the famous highway that once ran past the hotel, Amy Gill said.
The Gills hope to increase the hotel’s popularity in the area but also want to appeal to Route 66 road trippers who follow the old highway in their 1960s muscle cars and other vintage vehicles. […]
Gill said renovation plans include stripping the hotel of its “goofy little” window dormers and other modifications to reveal the building’s original sleek, mid-century modern style.
“It’ll be a really cool project,” she said.
The motel remains open during renovations. Its Facebook page has posted numerous photos of the work done so far.
About $4 million will be spent in renovations, Amrit Gill said. All the work should be done by June, he said.