June 17, 2002 – With a new peach façade, a paint job and new carpeting in the rooms and a host of other improvements, St. Croix's King Christian Hotel will celebrate its new look on Thursday with an open-to-the-public cocktail party. It runs from 5 to 8 p.m. at the hotel. Tours of the facility will be available. Reserve your spot by calling the hotel at 773-6330 by 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The hotel has served as a center for trade and commerce for more than 200 years. Originally used as a warehouse, the building served as barracks for Danish gendarmes, headquarters for harbor masters and a haven for sea captains and other visiting sailors. Located adjacent to the waterfront and the Christiansted Boardwalk, the hotel is part of the Christiansted Historic District.
"Our renovate has only enhanced the historic buildings that surround us. The peach colored exterior paint was chosen as a way to preserve the King Christian's history as the building was peach many, many years ago," manager Earl Powell said.
The hotel has a new deck overlooking the boardwalk, and the lobby has a new look, said Leslie Hillyer, coordinator at Media Mate Inc., the St. Croix firm that handles hotel publicity.
Hillyer said the hotel has also hired staff to improve hotel workers courtesy skills.
The six-month redo ran $250,000, Hillyer said, with most of the work done by the hotel's maintenance staff.
She said that the hotel remained open during the renovation.
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