The hotel at the Chattanooga Choo Choo complex is undergoing a name change to The Hotel Chalet as work on an extensive renovation of the property is on track to finish late this year, according to its owner.
Long known as the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel, the lodging is receiving a $19 million makeover that began in 2022 and includes work to the iconic train cars and gardens, and the refurbishing will "usher in a new era of destination travel," said Jake Lamstein, owner of hotel operator Trestle Studio.
"We are working closely with our partners and neighbors at the Terminal Building, Station Street and the newly open Signal music venue to create an entirely reimagined Choo Choo district," Lamstein said in a statement.
In 2022, the Chicago-based company had initially put the hotel site's revamp at $10 million.
The company is reinvigorating a historic property, including restoring 25 vintage train cars and 127 rooms to "a level of world class luxury and service," Jessica LaRosa, managing director of the hotel, said in an email Wednesday.
Also, Trestle is adding a new event space and pool and building out multiple stylish food and beverage venues within the property, she said.
"We are taking the time and resources to do it right," LaRosa said.
Concerning the name change, the Chattanooga Choo Choo brand has become bigger than just a hotel and is an entire nightlife, hospitality and entertainment district, she said.
"We created a new name to better reflect the overall experience at the hotel," LaRosa said. "The Hotel Chalet name evokes a feeling of when adventure and luxury merged in the French Alps during the first golden age of rail travel."
The Hotel Chalet will have a restaurant and multiple bars with the food and beverage program overseen by Chattanooga restaurateurs Ryan Smith and Chloe Wright of The Rosecomb, according to Trestle.
Guests can make room reservations for the hotel starting later this summer, the company said. The hotel is currently accepting event bookings for 2024.
Earlier this year, the Chattanooga Choo Choo complex turned 50 years old.
The Choo Choo was one of the first examples of a large city train station no longer served by the railroad to be saved for public use by private investment, Justin Strickland, a Chattanooga historian who wrote a book about the popular landmark, said in a phone interview.
The grand opening of what was then known as the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hilton and Entertainment Complex in April 1973 almost didn't happen, Strickland said.
"It came so close to becoming a parking lot," he said. "They were taking it apart when the decision came down to save it."
A group led by the late Chattanooga businessman B. Allen Casey took the neglected terminal that was slated for demolition and transformed it into one of Tennessee's best-known tourist destinations.
Casey later recalled in an interview with the Chicago Tribune that he had spotted a tiny article in a Chattanooga newspaper in 1971 about the planned destruction of the old terminal. Already toying with the idea of a new downtown hotel, Casey sized up the old depot, saying, "Gee, this would make a fantastic entertainment complex," according to the article.
But after experiencing initial success, the Choo Choo ran into financial problems related to increased lodging industry competition and soaring interest rates, according to news archives. In 1987, the Choo Choo filed a bankruptcy reorganization plan, and Casey lost control of the facility.
A group that included Chattanooga businessmen Jon Kinsey, Frank Fowler and Jeff Leonard closed on the acquisition of the property Jan. 13, 1989, former Mayor Kinsey said earlier by phone.
LaRosa said in an April email that the renovation is a timely one.
"While we're not quite ready to celebrate today, we're looking forward to acknowledging the milestone when we unveil the fully restored property later this year," she said. "There aren't many hotels that have stood the test of time to the extent that Choo Choo has over the last 50 years. We owe our longevity to our loyal guests, locals and history enthusiasts that help us to maintain our very special property as a leading destination in Chattanooga."
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.