DAYTON — One historic downtown Dayton hotel is reopening its doors.
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The former Crowne Plaza on E. Fifth Street has been empty for almost three years after going through a couple of different ownership groups.
Now, it’s being rebranded as Dayton Vitality Hotel, owned by Bright Hotels.
It’s been open for eight days, with an extremely soft and phased opening, but guests can come through the doors.
“I believe this building is not only a hotel, this building is a community hub,” Deniz Dorbek, CEO of Bright Hotels Group, said.
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The Vitality Hotel’s lobby is modern, warm, and inviting.
“We have a big community table here,” Dorbek said. “We want people to sit next to each other, break bread, and make conversation.”
Guests who prefer can check in at kiosks or online and receive room keys on their phones without talking to anyone.
The ownership group has opened the lobby and the second-floor conference space.
‘And probably we’ll make a lot of collaboration with the Convention Center in this space," she said.
The hotel has about 50 rooms available right now, most of which are on the 12th floor. They are doing the renovation and reopening floor by floor to ensure quality and expect to have another floor open for guest booking in the next week.
“We have these very large windows. It’s always very nice and we have a fantastic view here,” Dorbek described.
As shown on News Center 7 at 6:00, Dorbek took Mike Campbell to the top-floor restaurant. It’s not open yet, but she said it may be up and running by the end of the year.
Dorbek also said she’s already hearing from people in Dayton who had their high school prom or other big life events at the hotel in the past.
“All the Uber drivers, everybody, they all have a history about this hotel, amazing memories, and so fascinating to hear,” she said.
Dorbek said that makes her and the staff even more determined to make sure everything is right as they move forward.
“We just want to continue to grow with the city and create more memories with the community,” she said.
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