Owensboro Executive Inn

[BowlingGreenUKGrad]

Maybe some of you Owensboro folk can answer this question...

How big of a deal is the closing of the Executive Inn Rivermont to the city? I've always thought of it as THE hotel in Owensboro. Is it a big deal or not so much?

[kateyes]

I would say it is a pretty big deal. Owensboro will lose quite a bit in tourism $$ due to its closing. No more conferences, conventions, etc. No more an entertaining venue either, however I think that aspect has gone down hill the last few years. I think many of the hotel's problems are due to poor management over the years.

I remember going over there and it would be bustling with activity about 10-20 years ago with all of the conventions and conferences they hosted.

Owensboro is not exactly a tourism destination. What is there other than Moonlite BBQ? I can't think of a single historic monument or entertainment draw that Owensboro has. At least, Bardstown has My Old KY Home and the Stephen Foster Story to name a couple of things.

[surveyor]

I remember going over there and it would be bustling with activity about 10-20 years ago with all of the conventions and conferences they hosted.

Owensboro is not exactly a tourism destination. What is there other than Moonlite BBQ? I can't think of a single historic monument or entertainment draw that Owensboro has. At least, Bardstown has My Old KY Home and the Stephen Foster Story to name a couple of things.

I think the problem was competition from Evansville's casino as well as other gaming venues in the region coming on line over the past decade or so.
Those venues offer concerts / acts similar to what Executive Inn had offered in the past. Add the attraction of the casino and you've got a weekend of entertainment.

True, Bardstown has MOKH and the Stephen Foster story, but there's really not many hotels in Bardstown. There's a number of B&Bs, but, for the most part, folks spend a day/evening on there way to or from somewhere else, or are staying in Louisville / Elizabethtown and getting out to nearby attractions.:thumbup:

[TrueblueCATfan]

Wow..this is the first I heard of this...I did not know it was closing..we uausally go there at least twice a year

[TrueblueCATfan]

any clue when it is closing

[surveyor]

any clue when it is closing

Already closed as of last night.

[TrueblueCATfan]

Really??? a group of us have reservations for July 12-14th that we made about a month ago.........we have not heard from them about closing

[surveyor]

Really??? a group of us have reservations for July 12-14th that we made about a month ago.........we have not heard from them about closing

Evidently it was somewhat abrupt, although they'd been having money problems for some time. It was sold at foreclosure.
The new owners are going to shut it down, with businesses in the hotel given 30 days to vacate.

I hadn't been there in about 20 years, but evidently the market has changed significantly and the "E" couldn't keep pace.

http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-big-e-close-monday-/2008/06/07/3486448.htm

[TrueblueCATfan]

we just got a call from a friend saying he just talked to them and our trip is off....I hate it....we always enjoyed our trips to the place

[BamaCat86]

My dad called me this afternoon and told me that the "Big E" had closed as of this afternoon. He said that the people who were staying there were told to leave. While it had gone down considerably over the past few years, it was still a landmark draw for Owensboro. There will be a lot of high school reunion staffs scratching their heads to find another location with this news.

Isn't the company that owns the mortgage on the Executive Inn based in Minnesota?

[DenCat]

It is always sad to see a landmark close. Never been there personally, but remember my parents going back in the 70's and 80's.

[kateyes]

Future site of Luxury homes?

Indoor waterpark--doesn't Minnesota have those? Hmm, maybe there is something better on its way. Or maybe just wishful thinking for Owensboro.

[kateyes]

Just read a newspaper article about all the trouble closing the hotel down is causing. A couple getting married this Saturday had to move their reception and is losing $5500 they put down for the reception. That would be an absolute nightmare for a bride! Fortunately the Country Club is able to have it, but they lost $5500 plus they will have to pay the country club.

I don't think I spent that much money on my entire wedding much less a reception. I think my photos were the biggest expensive.

They are asking for people to volunteer to take people into their homes for the upcoming softball tournament where 10K are expected to be in attendance.

[WildcatDan]

Bad management policies over the last several years. There was a bid to revive the whole waterfront with a casino/ sports complex but the legislature voted it (the casino aspect) down. Part of the problem is that their room rates were too high for this area. Another problem is all of the LOCAL competition that have sprung up around here. Just 10 years ago there were not really any other hotels in Owensboror at all. Now there are five or six that I could list off the top of my head.

I am hoping that someone local with the cash to make something of it will purchase it and do it up right. One of the local hotel owners may be interested. I am crossing my fingers because it would suck to lose something like that which COULD have so much potential.

[surveyor]

Bad management policies over the last several years. There was a bid to revive the whole waterfront with a casino/ sports complex but the legislature voted it (the casino aspect) down. Part of the problem is that their room rates were too high for this area. Another problem is all of the LOCAL competition that have sprung up around here. Just 10 years ago there were not really any other hotels in Owensboror at all. Now there are five or six that I could list off the top of my head.

I am hoping that someone local with the cash to make something of it will purchase it and do it up right. One of the local hotel owners may be interested. I am crossing my fingers because it would suck to lose something like that which COULD have so much potential.

I agree.

Remodeling and upgrading the facility won't be cheap, however. I can't recall how much it cost to renovate the Galt House in Louisville - larger facility, I know, but the cost was significant.
$50 million to renovate the suites in the Suite Tower, $10 million to renovate the Rivue Tower rooms and Magnolia Cafe and $6 million to renovate 2 ballrooms. The Galt House boasts 1300 rooms versus 550+ for the Executive Inn so a $25 - $30 million price tag for renovation wouldn't be out of the question.

I hope it can return to the status it once held decades ago.

[TrueblueCATfan]

we have a group that goes every year some go down by boat and some of us drive....last August when we went down all of our rooms that were on the side by the outdoor pool..the rooms were terrible and dirty
The tower on the other hand is alot nicer....we went back in November and stayed in the Tower and our room was nice.....
the indoor pool has been closed since the fire
it is a shame....I always loved going down there....

[The Old School JPS]

Related note: the old Gabe's, the round tower hotel southeast of downtown Owensboro . . . what's that place like these days?

[kateyes]

News story about the current owners being in talks with developers in Evansville about opening up the tower part of the hotel for the scheduled summer events and then doing some development. IE tearing it down and putting up some attractions whatever that may be.

[BamaCat86]

Related note: the old Gabe's, the round tower hotel southeast of downtown Owensboro . . . what's that place like these days?

I was in Owensboro a couple of months ago and Gabe's Tower was still vacant and in pretty bad shape. My dad said that he had heard that a water main had burst and caused a lot of damage to the building.

I can remember seeing Gabe's Tower as a kid and thinking how cool it was at the time.

[Blue Heaven]

I've heard some folks from the area saying that because of the debt that buyers took on when they got the place ( supposedly it's changed hands numerous times), that the hotel was almost 1 billion in debt. I find this hard to believe. Anybody know if this is true?

[kateyes]

I know it was in bankruptcy court. Don't know debt amount. The first buyers are dropping out and they are searching for other developers. Such a prime location.