In this Hotel Impossible episode, Anthony Melchiorri visits Newport Spa and Whirlpool Suites in Newport, Rhode Island.
Newport Spa and Whirlpool Suites is owned by John.
The 120-room hotel was built in 1959 and has been owned by John since 1995.
They are now struggling to stay open on a month-to-month basis.
Anthony arrives and sees the grand entrance.
He sees the pool from outside and it looks abandoned.
The sign in front of the hotel is too small.
The sign on the road is different from the name of the hotel.
Front desk says the signs confuse guests as they think it is a spa rather than a hotel.
The spa is only a small room with one massage table.
Anthony meets with John to clarify the name as Whirlpool Suites was shut down many years ago.
The gym is the only thing in the facility that is world class.
The pool has been shut down for the winter.
Anthony reads out the negative online reviews for John.
They say the hotel is rundown and not as promised.
Anthony decides to view the King Suite and runs into an expensive massage chair by the doorway.
The bed has no headboard, the bedding is questionable and the mattress is stained.
There is a jacuzzi is stuck in a corner.
There is nothing luxurious about the room.
The sink drain is disconnected and leaking and the toilet is dirty and worn out.
Blanche is brought in and sees the room in its state and she is dumbfounded.
They plan to make the room romantic and get a new hotel sign with ‘Newport Inn’.
Anthony and John go see the indoor pool and the ceiling is rusted and worn.
John says the pool was just repainted but it already has rust stains.
There are hot tubs that are not hooked up and were brand new.
They have been sitting for more than 2 years filled with stagnant water.
John is unconcerned about the wear and tear and believes he is doing enough.
Anthony meets with Donna and she says John does not listen to her enough.
He believes that he is delivering luxury to the guests.
She complains that her staff is a skeleton crew that is not enough to run the hotel.
Blanche is shown the pool area which she is to also work on.
Anthony takes John to the gym which had been built in the hotel banquet room.
John is excited to present the gym space fitted with new equipment and Anthony is speechless.
Even in the banquet room, despite the expensive gym equipment the facility is still shoddy with dusty vents.
There are no locker rooms or showers but John is optimistic he can get memberships.
John’s priorities are misplaced with money going to the wrong places.
Anthony is frustrated and walks out on him.
Anthony meets Ronny, the only maintenance person for the whole hotel.
He works out of a guest room.
Ronny is told what to do and does not keep a maintenance log.
He needs more help and a proper maintenance shop.
Anthony wants to change a lot of things.
He wants to get rid of the gym equipment but they have dropped in value.
John is stuck with them but they will be moved into a truck.
An expert sees the hot tubs are actually 6-8 years old.
John wants to keep them in a warehouse even though he has no use for them.
The broker said the hot tubs are not worth anything anymore because of the damage and age.
It is $20,000 down the drain as the hot tubs are trashed.
Anthony sits with John and he is finally convinced he needs help and consultation.
Anthony checks in on Blanche and she is juggling multiple projects.
The bad news is the hot tub in the room cannot be removed.
Anthony and John sit with a potential VP of Operations with years of experience.
John is happy with him and agrees to a 30 day trial.
Anthony takes John to the town’s visitors center, it is busy and brings in bookings for their partners.
They agree to sign up the hotel.
Blanche has hit another roadblock as the pool is only half full.
The contractor bringing the water has to make multiple trips the next day.
Anthony takes John to a cruise ship service that John can partner with for his guests to enjoy.
Anthony has brought in help for maintenance with third party painters to touch up the hotel.
He sits John down with Donna to let her know about the new hire, so the workload is lightened for her.
She is happy there will be someone else to save the hotel from John.
He takes both of them to the new pool deck that has been touched up.
It is looking clean and inviting with a full pool and comfortable seating.
Donna says the space finally looks like it used to when she first started working at the hotel.
They are then shown the new sign on the exterior that is consistent with the brand of the hotel.
They are shown the King Suite that has been redesigned with a proper headboard.
There is new bedding and a cover for the AC unit and refrigerator.
The room looks upgraded and modern.
There is a clam bake for the staff and the visitors center.
What Happened Next at Newport Spa and Whirlpool Suites?
Newport Spa and Whirlpool Suites is closed.
They closed in 2014 and was sold to new owners.
The new owners renovated the hotel.
It reopened as Quality Inn & Suites Middletown.
Reviews after the show were mostly positive with praise for the restaurant and pool.
There are some complaints about issues with cleanliness.
After the hotel was sold the reviews are negative on Yelp.
The complaints seem to be focused on cleanliness and poor smells.
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