Gardnerville hotel receives makeover, new positioning

For the better part of a year, Deb Pierrel and Katy Donoghue debated whether The Historian Inn in downtown Gardnerville fit into the niche that their Cle Hospitality is developing.

The company headquartered in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., is focused on resort markets it bought Avalon Lodge at Stateline a year ago and Gardnerville on first glance isn't the same sort of resort as South Lake Tahoe.

But the more Pierrel and Donoghue learned, the more they were convinced that Gardnerville is a resort market however low-key and they moved to buy The Historian Inn with its 33 rooms.

The purchased closed last month. Privately held Cle Hospitality didn't disclose terms.

The company's team has been working long hours to completed a deep cleaning, and its doors will open to guests within a few days.

A more extensive renovation is scheduled for completion by late May or early June, and The Market Cafe at the hotel is scheduled for opening by summertime.

"It's a beautiful property that hasn't been cared for during many, many years," Pierrel said last week. The hotel at 1427 Highway 395 North was built in 2000.

As they researched the Douglas County tourism market, Donoghue and Pierrel learned that it's a destination for many visitors who use Gardnerville as a base for visits to nearby attractions at Lake Tahoe, Genoa and Virginia City.

Visitors don't typically come for a long stay, they learned, but they clearly view Gardnerville and Minden as a destination.

The new owners will be positioning the hotel in a niche that Pierrel describes as "value-oriented, high-service."

Cle Hospitality is contracting with Gardnerville-area firms for much of the renovation of the property, which will include custom-designed furniture, upgraded beds and bedding and historic artwork and artifacts.

Among the amenities available when renovation is complete, Pierrel said, will be complimentary bicycles for guests to use as they explore Minden and Gardnerville.

The hotel also includes several meeting spaces, and Pierrel said a secondary market will be corporate and business travelers.

The hotel will employ 12 to 15. (For employment information, see clehospitality.com.)