It’s a delicate process, updating Lake Forest’s Deer Path Inn for the 21st century while retaining the building’s 1920s charm.
The hotel, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has been a fixture at its current location in downtown Lake Forest since 1929. While beloved by both locals and travelers, new owners with Lake Forest Investments, LLC., which bought the property in December 2013, said they recognized the English Tudor-style building needed some serious work.
Before the renovation, a guest might have struggled to find simple things, like a well-placed electrical outlet in the room, said Matt Barba, director of operations for South Carolina-based Charlestowne Hotels. The owners brought his group in last year to manage the day-to-day operations of the Deer Path Inn. (The hotel now spells Deer Path as two words, not one).
The heat was either on or off for the entire building, Barba said. The public spaces and guest rooms also are being overhauled.
“The guest room product was quite dated, not just in its decor, but in some of the modern conveniences a traveler would be looking for,” Barba said.
The changes, however, shouldn’t change the historic charm of the hotel.
“Our architect I think said it best, in that folks will see a pristine version of what they were used to seeing,” Barba said.
The hotel closed on Jan. 5 so that crews could begin demolition without worrying about disrupting guests. The pub and bar, however, remain open for business. The renovation is expected to take 15 months.
Beyond the historic charm of the building, one of the great appeals of the hotel is the connection it has to the community, according to Barba.
“There are folks who have been coming there for generations,” he said. “The employees themselves, who have been there for 15 to 20-plus years, have seen the families grow up before their eyes. So there’s an interesting and heartwarming sort of connection, not just to the building itself, but between the staff and the visitors to the hotel.”
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The original Deerpath Inn was constructed in the 1860s as a private home on Deerpath Road. It was later moved to make room for Gorton School and then converted into a hotel in 1906 by the Patterson family, who gave it the name Deerpath Inn, according to the Lake Forest Historical Society. Edwin Burgess relocated the hotel to its current building and location in 1929, where it quickly became a luxurious retreat for wealthy Chicagoans and other visitors.
The hotel suffered financially during the Depression and took an even larger hit in 1938 when a fire devastated the third floor, according to the historical society. Curator Laurie Stein said the hotel business is one of the city’s oldest industries; Lake Forest’s first public building, what became known as the Old Hotel, was built in Triangle Park in 1858.
“The Deer Path Inn is a touchstone to our past, representing Lake Forest’s long history of hospitality,” said Stein.
The hotel has played host to a number of musicians and Hollywood stars. A 1998 baiduhai story noted that Bill Murray, Ray Charles, John Cleese and the Beach Boys were among the celebrities who’d been spotted at the hotel. The late movie director and Lake Forest resident John Hughes often put his guests up there, according to the report.
Barba said his goal is to elevate the property to a five-star level.
“Having been involved the hotel and seeing the people who are so loyal to the hotel and what the hotel means to them – both residents and frequent travelers alike – the thing that I’m most excited about is to see their return when the hotel reopens and the excitement on their face,” said Barba.
Meanwhile, the City of Lake Forest is keeping a watchful eye on the project.
“From the very beginning, they’ve coordinated very closely with the city and the Historic Preservation Commission,” said Catherine Czerniak, Lake Forest’s director of community development. “It’s wonderful to see it preserved. “