By Richard Caines

SALISBURY — A long-time Salisbury hotel has not only rebranded but transformed itself to better serve leisure and business travelers visiting the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

A recent ribbon-cutting ceremony, co-hosted by the Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce, celebrated the completion of a nearly seven-month renovation of the property now home to a Wingate by Wyndham hotel.

Local officials, business representatives and chamber members were given the opportunity to tour the rebranded hotel after the ceremony.

“It’s always great to see our town growing,” said Sigrid Velez-Nelson, director of membership for the chamber, at the June 18 event. “This was a Sleep Inn for many, many years and Wyndham, I mean, we all know that name. So, thank you Nilesh (Patel) for investing (here).”

Located at 406 Punkin Court, the hotel sits near the intersection of U.S. Routes 50 and 13 and is not far from Arthur W. Perdue Stadium, the Salisbury Regional Airport, the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center and Wor-Wic Community College.

Long-time owner and general manager Nilesh Patel said the hotel’s Eastern Shore location gives prospective travelers many options, with its access to Annapolis, Baltimore, Ocean City and Washington, D.C.

“A lot of our business is leisure business,” Patel said. “I would say about 60 percent is leisure, and about 40 percent is corporate and construction. We get a lot more from Ocean City, especially in the summer.”

Patel said deciding to partner with Wyndham was an easy choice because they understand each market and are helpful to the owners. He said they also helped with funding some of the renovations, which he said cost a little more than $1 million to complete.

The 75-room hotel has new paint, flooring, furniture and mattresses. Patel said popular amenities include the outdoor pool, fitness room, free Wi-Fi and breakfast and smart TVs, which allow customers to stream their favorite shows or movies from their electronic devices.

Patel said renovating the hotel was a challenge as they never closed during renovations.

“We started at the top floor and worked our way down,” Patel said. “The top floor was finished in February and the first floor was completed a few days ago.

“We had a crew of about eight people working here nonstop six days a week, 12 hours a day, but it’s still quite not over yet because they are working on the outside.”

Patel said he is a very involved owner and manager, spending an average of six days a week at the property. He said it’s all about cleanliness and customer service, which has earned them the top hotel in Salisbury for 11 years on Tripadvisor.

“It’s the staff that does most of the heavy lifting, so credit to them,” Patel said. “A lot of my staff have been here for years, and they do a great job. “

Those who walk through the hotel’s front entrance will notice an Eastern Shore-themed beach mural by local artist Denny McLeod, whose work can be seen throughout Salisbury and the region.

“Now, we need to see people come through the doors,” Patel said. “We’ve been working with 50 percent of the rooms open over the past seven months. The product will sell itself. The rooms came out nice.”

Wicomico County Councilman Jeff Merritt, who attended the June 18 ceremony, called the rebrand “exciting.”

“It’s kind of a new face to a traditional hospitality venue here,” Merritt said. “We always like it when people reinvest here. We have a lot of things in this county that require hotel stays, so we want to have hotels available for the people that visit.

“Nilesh and his team have always done a great job to take care of that. We wish them all the success.”

Reach Managing Editor Richard Caines at rcaines@iniusa.org.