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The original Alexis Park Inn lobby was quite literally a closet under a stairway in the Airport Building.  When we bought the business in 2002, we immediately moved the lobby to the Tower Building, by converting an old office area into a larger, more useable lobby. 

For nearly five years we happily did business in that "cut a hole with a SawzAll" lobby -- but problems were evident from the start.   The lobby check-in window was facing away from the road, meaning that we had our backs to most of our guests.  No matter how hard we tried, using signage and artwork, to direct people down the hall to the lobby, many guests would become confused and stop halfway there.   Something had to change, and it would NOT be easy to do..

We started designing the new lobby in late 2006.  We decided to make the new lobby the prototype for the way we wanted ALL the common areas in the hotel to look -- which meant that it would be a massive project, indeed. 

We split the job into three phases.  Phase One involved moving the ASI Rentals office, which occupied the front of the building,  to the north end of the building, so that our new check-in window could be oriented to face the road. 

The north unit was a part of the hotel that had not been remodeled for many years.  Thus, Phase One meant first making that area habitable again.

PHASE I -- The North Unit

This proved to be an immense job.  Carpet, drywall, ceiling tile -- all of it had to go.  The cheap residential-quality base molding was had to be replaced.  In short, NOTHING was salvageable.

Here are some pix from that first phase, completed in April 2007:

Re-doing the whole first floor meant 400+ linear feet of oak base molding	...All of which had to be stained...	We went with the fancy "chess pieces" in the corner -- more staining...	Mary and Jay worked on it for days on end...
Jay polyurethaning the stained molding...	Friend and contractor Arnsel cutting the ceiling framework in the North Unit

Reconfigured offices, new carpet, top-dollar ceiling tiles and lighting, and a fresh coat of paint converted the tired old North Unit into the prettiest part of the hotel, giving us a taste of how the new lobby would ultimately look! 

Before we could start Phase Two, however, we needed to move all of our office equipment into the little room -- soon to be the pilot's lounge -- outside of ASI Rental's new office.   This would be our "home" -- where ALL hotel business was conducted -- throughout the lobby remodel.  It was a tight fit!

We were working on folding tables...	That's the future "archway" into the new lobby. We didn't finish cutting it till the very end, to keep the dust down...

PHASE II -- The Lobby

Once we were safely moved into temporary quarters (far from the drywall dust and sawdust), we were able to start on Phase Two in earnest.  Tearing out the walls of our old office, and the old rental office, was a PERFECT job for a 16-year old boy and his friends.  

Our son, Joe, invited his buddy Ben to help us remove the walls -- and they had a great time doing it!

Joe takes a kick at our old office wall...	A perfect job for teenage boys!

After the fun was over, the work began in earnest.  Within minutes we made an unhappy discovery -- the outside walls of the old rental office had an *extra* layer of drywall on them!  Worse, the extra drywall had been GLUED on, rather than nailed! 

This meant that the new outer lobby wall would either have an unsightly 5/8" "bump" in them (where the extra drywall joined the rest of the drywall) -- or we would have to rip everything out down to the studs, and start over.

We tried carefully removing the extra drywall -- no dice.  The industrial adhesive was too strong, and simply tore chunks out of the underlying layer, too.  So, we decided to rip it out and start over -- a decision that added an extra 2 days of work to an already tight schedule. 

Arnsel had gutted the old rental office while we were at Sun N Fun -- saving us a day!	A time to worry -- Jay with a SawzAll!	Cutting out walls is a messy job
Our old office counter top would be saved and re-used in the new office, literally on the other side of the wall.	The old archway into the old lobby became a door

Once the walls were out, we could start building the new check-in window.  We had intended to simply re-use the old window, by jumping across to the other side of the wall, but it quickly became obvious that the old window was too small and out-of-scale with the new, larger lobby.  

So, the SawzAll got another work out!

Framing the new L-shaped window was straightforward enough, but getting everything square and level wasn't.  Trying to make walls square when they're joining old, non-square walls is always fun -- but we eventually got it right.

Mary & Arnsel sizing up the new counter	Measure twice -- cut once!	Our friend Frank puzzled over the new lighting for a few days...	Jay working on the new counter...
Our son Joe, obviously happy to be working a broom...again	Piecing in the new drywall, where we had to tear out the old, double-layer	The old arch becoming a new door to our new office

Once everything was roughed in, we could start on the flooring.  We drew graphs and pictures, but, ultimately, we had to lay the tile out on the floor to get an idea of what it would look like.  This resulted in some last-minute adjustments, but the end result looks fantastic!

Click here to view a short video taken during the tiling job.

Mary cleaning around new tile	The new lobby is starting to take shape	That's the old lobby, on the other side of the wall	Jay grouting the tile -- hard on the knees and back!
Jay tiled the new counter to match the floor

At last it was time for carpet.  At the carpet folks' suggestion, Jay installed a full-length aluminum strip along the edge of the tile, which allowed the carpet to butt right up against it.  This is a much better solution than carpet butting up against a grout line, and really makes for a sharp-looking installation.

Before the carpet could be installed, we had to cut out the new archway, leading to the North Unit	We had already cut the drywall off the other side of the wall -- now it was time for Jay to remove it from the lobby side	At last, the North and South sides of the building are joined!	Right before the carpet installers arrived, Mary tried to mop up the drywall dust.
The carpet pad down, looking toward the arch	The view from the new check-in window -- spacious!	The carpet is IN. Now it's time for the base molding...	Joe & Bec messing around by new check-in window
Joe works a broom, again...

After the carpet, things really started moving quickly -- but we were running out of time.  Our drop-dead opening date was May 10th -- the day before the University of Iowa graduation weekend, traditionally our biggest weekend of the year -- and it was rapidly approaching. 

We simply extended our workdays to match.  In the end, we worked 20 straight days on the project, often from 6 AM till 10 PM.

Jay started installing the ceiling framework as soon as the carpet guys were done	Arnsel & Jay consulting	Cutting base molding seemed like it would never end!	Bec in the new office/old lobby
Joe chucking a screw driver in the drill	Jay's chop saw got a real workout on this project!

After carpet, the ceiling (which included all new lighting and ventilation ducts) started to come together...

Becca installs ceiling tiles	Mary helped, too!

And we made it!  We didn't finish moving the office until 10 PM on May 10th (and Jay didn't cut the last ceiling tile until 4 PM the next day -- right before a scheduled Graduation Party!) -- but it all, at last, came together... 

Moving into the new office	Becca & Mike, our night manager, in the new check-in window	Mike in the new window	Mary in the finished lobby
Mary relaxing after 20 straight days!	No artwork, yet -- and the furniture is only temporary -- but it looks great!	The new archway, leading to the new Pilots Lounge -- hard to believe we fit our entire office over there for several weeks!

Click here to view a video walk-through of our new lobby!

PHASE III -- The Jack Knight Meeting Room/Theater

The final phase of our first floor remodeling project involved carpeting and the installation of matching oak base molding in our "Jack Knight Meeting Room/Theater". 

As with the entire project, we managed to finish it in the "nick of time", installing the last piece of base molding literally 20 minutes before the guests arrived for the showing of "Air America"!

Here are some photos from this last stage:

Joe & friend, Ben, ripped out the awful, old indoor-outdoor carpet	Mary with old carpet rolled and ready to go	All the awful, industrial plastic base molding had to be ripped off...	Leaving bare drywall that had been wet in the past and needed to be painted...
Watch as Jay paints the base OVER the new carpet! Not a drop was spilled. (Note the bare feet!)	One of the new room's first uses -- a youth group meeting	The kids made good use of the 104" projection system...

It's been a long, hard row -- but our guests are already raving about the changes!  A watershed mark for the Alexis Park Inn & Suites, this project represents just another step in our quest to make our inn the very best hotel in the world!

Jay & Mary Honeck

May 15, 2007