The Cal-Neva casino, once owned by Frank Sinatra, is about to undergo a major renovation.
The Cal-Neva hotel-casino is Lake Tahoe is closed as of Monday as it will undergo a multimillion-dollar makeover for more than a year, the Associated Press reports.
The 219-room, 10-story hotel and 6,000-square-foot casino will get an upgrade in the hopes of saving it. Robert Radovan, co-owner of Criswell-Radovan bought the Cal Neva with a partner in April.
"Our goal is to bring it back to its former glory and to make it what it was like in Sinatra's day," Radovan told The Associated Press. "It has such great soul and character, and it's needed this redo for many decades."
The property has been struggling due to the recent recession and competition from Las Vegas and Indian casinos. Business got so bad that the hotel had to shut down in 2010.
The Cal Nevada was very popular in the early 60's as it was owned by Frank Sinatra. It was one of the most famous resorts in the country from 1960 to 1963 and drew names such as Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, Marilyn Monroe, Joe DiMaggio and Juliet Prowse.
The Cal Neva is where Monroe spent her last weekend before overdosing in Los Angeles in 1962. The cabin where she stayed and four others will also be renovated. Sinatra and his friends often used the other cabins.
Sinatra added some of his own renovations to the resort including a celebrity showroom and a helicopter pad on the roof. Sinatra and his famous friends would often use underground tunnels at the resort to avoid the public. The tunnels were built in the late 1920's in the days of Prohibition, so that alcohol could be transported.
According to Radovan, the showroom will get new equipment, paint and carpets. The tunnels will be preserved and the resort will offer public tours of the cabins and tunnels once it is reopened.
"The acoustics in that place are amazing. The modernized equipment will allow for high-end concerts," Radovan said of the showroom. He said that the showroom will be named after Sinatra.
The owners are hoping to make the 1-star hotel into a 4-plus-star resort. They plane to add modern amenities, larger bathrooms and bigger windows to give guests amazing views of Lake Tahoe. The Casino will also get blackjack and other table games.
"There will be an elegant, clean, post-modern feel to it after we're done," Radovan said. "You don't want to lose the history of the Frank Sinatra era and eras before it. But you have to ... bring it back to where it's a modernized version of what it was in the heyday."
The owners are hoping to reopen to Cal Neva on Dec. 12, 2014. Sinatra would have turned 99 that day.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
