Historic Okoboji resort won't change hands
OKOBOJI, Iowa | The pending sale of The Inn, a more-than-century-old resort on the shore of West Lake Okoboji, is off.
“The sale is not happening and there is no plan to relist it right now,” said Brian DePalma, CEO of the Dallas, Texas-based DePalma Hotels that has been operating the 200-unit resort since the property entered foreclosure by Liberty Bank in 2011.
Sioux City native Scott Nylen announced in October 2013 that he planned to buy the property early this year, pending due diligence.
At the time of his announcement Nylen said he wanted to rehabilitate the original Inn.
Nylen has not returned repeated requests for comment.
DePalma Hotels CEO Brian DePalma said he was “informed the sale will not be happening. But I do not know why.”
“The Inn is actually a cash-flowing property at this point. The business side of it is doing well,” DePalma explained. “Last season we spent money on all new mattresses, bedding and carpet. We revamped a lot of the IT. Chef Tom (Wiley) got in there and redid a lot of the kitchen. And this year we’ll be doing other upgrades to the building.”
In addition to making more capital improvements, DePalma said they “plan on maintaining many of the traditions such as singer Marilyn Maye,” who is now scheduled to perform at The Inn, Aug. 17, 19, and 20.
Maye, who turned 86, on April 10, was the featured entertainer when the then-New Inn Resort, reopened after extensive remodeling in 1955. And she has performed in the Lakeview Room at The Inn most years since. She recorded seven long-playing record albums for RCA Victor in the late 1960s and 70s, and continues to perform regularly from coast-so-coast. Maye will be appearing at New York’s Lincoln Center and at 54 Below in nine shows in May.
With the news that the sale is not taking place, Joe DePalma, the now-retired founder of the hotel company, has already made his plans to travel to Okoboji for the shows. After hearing Maye for the first time two years ago, the senior DePalma promised the singer she would have a job at The Inn as long as he was involved.
Reported by: Sioux City Journal.com
“The sale is not happening and there is no plan to relist it right now,” said Brian DePalma, CEO of the Dallas, Texas-based DePalma Hotels that has been operating the 200-unit resort since the property entered foreclosure by Liberty Bank in 2011.
Sioux City native Scott Nylen announced in October 2013 that he planned to buy the property early this year, pending due diligence.
At the time of his announcement Nylen said he wanted to rehabilitate the original Inn.
Nylen has not returned repeated requests for comment.
DePalma Hotels CEO Brian DePalma said he was “informed the sale will not be happening. But I do not know why.”
“The Inn is actually a cash-flowing property at this point. The business side of it is doing well,” DePalma explained. “Last season we spent money on all new mattresses, bedding and carpet. We revamped a lot of the IT. Chef Tom (Wiley) got in there and redid a lot of the kitchen. And this year we’ll be doing other upgrades to the building.”
In addition to making more capital improvements, DePalma said they “plan on maintaining many of the traditions such as singer Marilyn Maye,” who is now scheduled to perform at The Inn, Aug. 17, 19, and 20.
Maye, who turned 86, on April 10, was the featured entertainer when the then-New Inn Resort, reopened after extensive remodeling in 1955. And she has performed in the Lakeview Room at The Inn most years since. She recorded seven long-playing record albums for RCA Victor in the late 1960s and 70s, and continues to perform regularly from coast-so-coast. Maye will be appearing at New York’s Lincoln Center and at 54 Below in nine shows in May.
With the news that the sale is not taking place, Joe DePalma, the now-retired founder of the hotel company, has already made his plans to travel to Okoboji for the shows. After hearing Maye for the first time two years ago, the senior DePalma promised the singer she would have a job at The Inn as long as he was involved.
Reported by: Sioux City Journal.com
