Casino hotel opening date delayed
Published 1:00 pm Friday, October 23, 2015
NATCHEZ, Miss. (AP) — The former Isle of Capri Casino Hotel will be closed longer than initially anticipated.
The hotel was only supposed to be closed for two days to switch over computer systems before reopening as the Magnolia Bluffs Hotel this week. Officials said Thursday it now will be closed until the beginning of November.
Magnolia Bluffs Casino President Kevin Preston said unforeseen repairs caused the company to make the decision to close for approximately two weeks.
The $11.5 million sale of the former Isle of Capri hotel to Magnolia Bluffs Casino’s parent company, Casino Holding Investment Partners, closed Monday. The Isle of Capri Casino Natchez closed its doors Sunday.
Preston tells The Natchez Democrat (http://bit.ly/1QY6sAu) the repairs causing the opening delay stem from plumbing and other issues.
Outside contractors will be coming in to take a look at plumbing and replace some toilets in rooms and make other repairs, he said.
“We’re also looking at the food and beverage equipment. Some of it has been down for a long time,” Preston said. “We want to make sure we have the necessary equipment to have a proper opening.”
The lobby and food and beverage areas will be first on the renovation list.
The company will then begin remodeling the hotel rooms, working one floor at a time so rooms will remain open throughout the process. The remodeling work should be completed in approximately four months, Preston said.
In the meantime, the carpets in the facility will be professionally cleaned until the rooms can be remodeled. The painting of the exterior of the building began this week. The large lighted Isle of Capri sign was taken down from the building Tuesday.
The approximately 20 former Isle of Capri hotel employees Magnolia Bluffs hired attended new-hire orientation Tuesday, Preston said. The hiring of more hotel employees, he said, would depend on the hotel’s volume of business.
“We want to start off on the right foot with our customers, and obviously they have a level of expectation from Magnolia Bluffs, and we want to make sure that carries over,” he said.
