YORK, Pa. — After several years of renovations, the Yorktowne Hotel will open its doors to guests today, Jan. 31, with a grand opening ceremony at 4 p.m.
New designs include downtown York's first rooftop lounge, a WellSpan ballroom that fits 300 people, an artisan installation that features artists' work and more.
“It feels incredible; I have to keep pinching myself to make sure I’m not dreaming,” said James Parker, marketing and sales director of Yorktowne Hotel.
Parker said the renovations took close to seven years to really perfect the reintroduction of the hotel. He said the hotel is for the community, and he hopes everyone could feel a part of the exciting day.
“The people of York have been waiting for quite a long time… I think when people see the finished product, the finished, fully restored hotel, that they’ll completely understand and just be overwhelmed with the job that has been done,” said Parker.
According to managing director Michael Blum, the Yorktowne Hotel blends the history of the hotel, the artisans of the hotel, and the technical state of the art that the Hilton Hotel brand has preserved for hotels across the nation.
“It’s really a confluence of amazing things and historical technology,” said Blum.
Blum and Parker said the partnership with Hilton Hotels has given a technological and modern advantage to the Yorktowne Hotel. The Hilton Honors point system will be implemented for the hotel, and the app will also provide contactless check-in to the guest.
“Say if they were close by visiting downtown and it’s getting a little bit cold in the evening, they can very well go into their Hilton Honors app and turn the heat up in their room,” said Parker.
One factor that contributed to the project's timeline to revitalize the Yorktowne Hotel was the ability to preserve and maintain historical items.
“We had folks who were there to guide us through every step of the process in terms of historically, what needed to be maintained,” said Blum. "So having that additional oversight to guide through the questions of ‘how do you still remain true to a product that’s 1925?’ we had that assistance."
Yorktowne Hotel renovated lobby
During the renovations, many issues were encountered. Both directors say the building had not had a renovation in 100 years. What started off as minor renovations became an entire project when they realized all of Yorktowne Hotel had to be updated.
Other issues include the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain issues. The goal is that the upgrades to the hotel will be preserved for the next hundred years.
“The mural that was uncovered—the 1926 mural behind the desk when the [renovators] were pulling the panels off—they realized there was a mural that was hidden under there for decades,” said Parker.
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