Holiday Inn Windsor: We’re open for business, better than before

Holiday Inn Windsor owner Nick Desai Jr. wants everyone to know his hotel has been renovated and deep cleaned and is ready for business.

For 11 months in 2021, Sonoma County used the facility to house homeless people and others vulnerable to COVID-19.

Besides being upgraded and sanitized, the hotel has also opened a new restaurant, the Windsor Bar and Grill.

“We want to get the word out that we are open and have been extensively renovated, and we are back now, even better than before,” Desai said during a recent interview. “Rarely does a property have the opportunity to do this when they have been open less than five years.”

The hotel, which opened in September 2017, has 100 rooms, but only about half were occupied during the early part of the pandemic, according to Desai, who is a controller for a management firm and oversees the hotel’s management.

The hotel was closed for three months starting in April, after the county residents left when the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s funding for the program ran out.

Renovations, which included repairing any damage and replacing so-called “soft items” such as mattresses and other bedding items in every room, began soon after.

Curtains and carpets in rooms and in common areas were professionally cleaned; everything had to meet Centers for Disease Control and Prevention standards.

The hotel also had to meet an extensive checklist of conditions imposed by Intercontinental Hotels Group franchise inspectors.

Every room was repainted, including the walls and doors, pointed out Mohammed Rana, food and beverage manager and temporary chef. Rana was there and involved with the closure and refurbishing of the hotel, not to be confused with the Holiday Inn Express in Windsor where he’s also worked.

Rana, who studied in London, and has been in charge of food and beverages before at other Intercontinental hotels and five-star hotels, has been trying out different dishes, including a variety of sauces for chicken wings, and recently, flatbreads.

The Windsor Bar and Grill replaces Tisza Bistro and Bar, which was a Hungarian restaurant.

“We wanted to take quick action and open but we are part of the (Holiday Inn) franchise and we need a restaurant to open the hotel,” Rana said.

“The name of the restaurant may sound basic, but what we’re serving is not basic,” added Desai.

He and Rana said the restaurant’s entrees are European-based cuisine, what Desai called “modern European fusion — to cater to all different clientele.”

“It’s not a basic mom-and-pop bar and grill,” Desai said. “We’re operating a full-service bar and grill with cocktails.”

Their fish and chips are made in the European style and both their fish and shrimp tacos and their beet salad are “a must try,” Rana said.

The restaurant also offers small bites like four kinds of sliders and bruschetta. Entrees like New York steak, salmon and a variety of desserts like creme brulee and bitter chocolate mousse are also on the menu. They are interviewing for a permanent chef.

Business has been tough for the hotel industry since late 2019 when COVID-19 hit the U.S. and hotels and restaurants began to close in 2020.

“The first eight to 10 months of 2020 were horrific; we were getting less than 10% occupancy, and were having to lay off or give employees one shift per week to keep them working,” Desai said.

When the county offered to rent some of their rooms, “this was a way to keep the hotel afloat, and not see the property go under” like so many others, Desai said.

“It also kept employees afloat. The county provided food as well so food and beverage employees were on board,” he said.

Other employees were hired to provide housekeeping services, for a total of 20 to 25 jobs saved, he said.

Now that they are back getting tourist traffic from everywhere, Desai is trying to generate business again from local clientele, such as Windsor-based companies and local tourists from nearby counties, he said.

“We want companies to know that we have a 2,500-square-foot banquet space and a conference room available to rent for their meetings and company events. They can also be used for tourists coming to hold their rehearsal dinners or receptions,” Desai said.

Windsor Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Beth Henry said hotels “are an important part of our hospitality landscape. We want to be able to house visitors within our borders so they can enjoy everything Windsor has to offer.”

“I do hope that they will celebrate with a grand ribbon cutting so the town can welcome them into the community,” she said. “They’ve put a lot of time and money into renovating the inside. I was there, and it was beautiful.”

You can reach Staff Writer Kathleen Coates at kathleen.coates@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5209.