Walper Hotel welcomes blues fans before real reopening

CTV Kitchener: Inside the Walper reno Before it reopens for good, the Walper Hotel is giving a preview of its renovation to blues fans. Nadia Matos takes a look inside.

Kitchener’s historic Walper Hotel isn’t quite ready to show off its new look just yet, but some guests are getting a sneak peek at its renovation this weekend.

Thirty-one rooms on the hotel’s fifth floor are being opened to house guests during the weekend of the Kitchener Blues Festival.

Hotel general manager Domini Baldasaro says that move is a result of prospective guests being disappointed they couldn’t stay at the Walper during the 2015 blues festival.

It’s been about 18 months since the hotel at the corner of King and Queen streets closed for a massive renovation.

“We have a beautiful old building that has rested on its laurels. It was really important to us that we took it to a whole new level,” said Baldasaro.

In addition to under-the-radar changes to the building’s electrical and HVAC systems, all the rooms have been redone, as has the front lobby.

“It’s warm and welcoming, as opposed to darker and cooler like we had before,” said Baldasaro.

Ross Robinson –one of those people who missed out on a Walper stay during last year’s blues festival – checked in Friday and was impressed with what he saw.

“It still has a lot of eccentricities and quirks of the old building, but it’s really modern at the same time,” he said.

While most of the hotel’s second and fifth floors are finished, work remains ongoing on the third and fourth floors.

After this weekend, the hotel will once again close its doors so the renovations can finish up.

Hotel management is targeting the Labour Day weekend for a full reopening, with a grand opening celebration on Sept. 15.

With reporting by Nadia Matos