BIRD IN HAND, Pa. — The Bird-in-Hand Family Inn will be back open this week, less than a month after one person was killed and a portion of the building was destroyed in a devastating propane explosion and fire.
The Lancaster County resort will re-open Tuesday and is currently taking reservations, its owners said in a press release.
Guests will be accommodated in the Pool Building, which was left undamaged by the December 18 blast.
“We look forward to welcoming guests back to our hotel,” said John E. Smucker, II, Bird-in-Hand’s president and chief executive officer.
Hotel employee Michelle Miller, who worked as a night auditor, was killed in the fire.
The hotel was closed for renovation at the time of the explosion, and Miller was the only person present in the front office at the time.
The Pool Building is the largest on the resort hotel's property, with 90 rooms and suites, several recreational areas, including two heated indoor pools, a hot tub, a game room, and an exercise room.
The check-in desk has been temporarily relocated to the Pool Building's D Lobby, near the second carport, Smucker said.
“Guests can be confident that our Pool Building has passed all appropriate inspections,” Smucker said. “Once we receive an occupancy permit for the undamaged portion on the west end of the Front Building, we anticipate opening up those rooms as well.”
The fire did an estimated $1-2 million damage to the sales office, registration area and several of the rooms in the Front Building, including its popular Schoolhouse Suite and other Village Rooms, Smucker said.
Thirty-five rooms in the front building will remain closed.
Pending results of the inspector’s report and receipt of necessary permits, the company intends to rebuild those facilities.
The Bird-in-Hand Restaurant, which is also on the resort grounds, re-opened on December 28.
Hotel staff is in the process of contacting guests who hold reservations for closed portions of the Family Inn to inform them of the updates. For questions about an existing reservation, or to book a room or suite, contact Central Reservations at (717) 768-8271 or CentralReservations@Bird-in-Hand.com.
“Our family has served visitors to Lancaster County for decades, and we look forward to carrying on our tradition of hospitality long into the future,” Smucker said.