Hotel Conneaut’s new owners have plan for property. What they envision

CONNEAUT LAKE — Todd and Linda Joseph, owners of Conneaut Lake Park, are planning a coming-out party of sorts for the park’s 120-year-old waterfront hotel.

A “Great Gatsby”-themed New Year’s Eve party will be held in the Hotel Conneaut‘s Crystal Ballroom, offering the public a taste of an ongoing renovation project taking place inside one of the region’s oldest hotels.

The hotel, built in 1903, was part of the deal when Todd and Linda Joseph bought the park property out of bankruptcy for $1.2 million in March of 2021.

Initially, Todd Joseph, a Philadelphia-area developer, said he was focused primarily on the development potential of more than 100 acres, much of it on the lakefront.

“I figured if I bought it, I could figure out how to make money later,” he said.

His wife, Linda Joseph, who grew up in Crawford County and tended bar at the park’s former Beach Club when she was 18, expected that they would try to operate it as an amusement park.

It quickly became apparent, she said, that running an amusement park was the wrong plan at the wrong time.

Competition was stiff and liability and maintenance costs were overwhelming, she said. On top of that, “The water park was a mess.”

In a series of moves that were sometimes unpopular with the public — a number of residents wrote letters to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, asking the court to “halt the destruction of the park” — the Josephs removed the park’s familiar entry gate, tore down pavilions and sold or removed many of the rides, including the signature Blue Streak roller coaster.

Linda Joseph said she recognizes that the park is a cherished memory for many people, but trying to keep that memory alive no longer makes sense.

“It was someone else’s memory,” she said. “We want people to be able to make their own memories.”

Todd Joseph said that the former amusement park classifies now as a family entertainment center. It’s not an amusement park, but a facility with amusements, he said.

Those amusements include the park’s carousel and a go-cart track, both of which are open for special events. The carousel is a favorite spot for wedding photos, he said.

The Josephs, who have made extensive renovations to the marina, are expanding Camperland, a campground located on park property.

The couple turns its attentions to the Hotel Conneaut

It was only earlier this year, after a former operator’s lease to operate Hotel Conneaut expired, that the park’s owners turned their attentions to restoring the hotel, where upgrades are expected to far exceed the cost of buying the entire property.

Extensive renovations that began early this year are expected to continue through 2025 and maybe into the following year.

So far, Todd Joseph said his work crews have repaired and replaced wooden porches that flank the 50,000-square-foot building, completed a floor-to-ceiling renovation of the lobby, reimagined a bar in the style of a 1920s speakeasy, installed new public restrooms, replaced old windows with new and began the renovation of more than 120 hotel rooms.

In most rooms, aging shag carpets, fixtures and walls have been removed, reducing the rooms to a skeleton of wooden studs.

There’s a lot more work scheduled in the months ahead, including the installation of a new elevator to service the three-story building. Eventually, they plan to add a pool.

Many of the original hotel rooms, which were small by modern standards, are being combined to create a smaller number of larger rooms.

What’s to like about an old hotel?

Todd Joseph said he thinks there’s a lot about the old hotel to like, including its massive bridal suites and two ballrooms with sweeping views of Pennsylvania’s largest natural lake.

Linda Joseph said her favorite part of the hotel is the veranda.

“It has such a timeless elegance and I love to sit outside overlooking the lake on summer mornings with a cup of coffee,” she said in an emailed response to a question from the Erie Times-News. “If you wake up early enough, there is a mist hovering above the water that makes you feel like you are in an Oliver Twist novel.”

More: Big crowds will mean hefty hotel prices as solar eclipse draws near in Erie

The goal for the hotel, according to Todd Joseph is to be the “premiere lakefront wedding and event center in the tri-state area.”

More: Conneaut Lake Park owner envisions more campsites where amusement park rides once existed

The owners are confident they will find customers willing to pay upscale prices for upscale amenities, including $249 a night for lakefront rooms.

“We have already had many guests this year that would never previously have visited the hotel in the rundown condition it was in,” Linda Joseph said. “This is true of events also. A certain clientele expects a level of excellence and professionalism.”

Contact Jim Martin at jmartin@timesnews.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Hotel Conneaut owners hope to transform facility. Here’s how

EMEA Tribune is not involved in this news article, it is taken from our partners and or from the News Agencies. Copyright and Credit go to the News Agencies, email news@emeatribune.com Follow our WhatsApp verified Channel