Posh renovates Joliet’s largest hotel

The Clarion Hotel, the largest and longest-standing full-service hotel in Joliet, is getting a new look.

Posh Hospitality, which has three other hotels in Joliet, acquired the Clarion Hotel & Convention Center in July and has been working on improvements since.

“We like the opportunity to be creative,” said Dan Scott, vice president of operations for Posh Hospitality, which is based in Joliet and also has a hotel in Bourbonnais. “Every one of our hotels has something unique about it.”

The Clarion, located at 411 S. Larkin Ave. near the Interstate 80 interchange, is a new venture for Posh because of its size, and mostly because of its full-service amenities that include a restaurant, bar, banquet facilities and meeting space.

Opened in 1971 as a Holiday Inn, it always was a full-service hotel with banquet space that made it an attraction for travelers on the interstate and local residents who needed space for weddings and events.

Previous ownership expanded the banquet and meeting space, which Posh has given a new look with remodeling. Rooms also are being remodeled.

The restaurant, which closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, has reopened under the name Whiskey River Bar and Grill with a theme reflected in a number of whiskey-infused menu items.

The banquet space has been given the name Posh Banquets and Events Center. It will be the site of a March 13 bridal showcase, an event that has been a bit of a tradition at the hotel.

“We’re looking to bring back a lot, like Mother’s Day brunches and Easter brunch,” Scott said. “I really think this is a huge opportunity that was just missed.”

While Posh looks to expand banquet and meeting business, its most direct competition is the Holiday Inn at I-80 and Houbolt Road, the next interchange west of Larkin Avenue.

In 2018, Hospitality Guru Group opened the 120-room Holiday Inn with restaurant, bar, banquet facilities and meeting space with plans to add a Candlewood Suites hotel at the site. In 2020, construction began on the 80-room Candlewood Suites, which will be connected to the Holiday Inn for a total of 200 rooms, although under two brand names.

However, Posh plans to convert a section of the Clarion to another brand, Quality Inn, for extended-stay suites, making it also a two-brand location very similar in concept to the Holiday Inn-Candlewood Suites site, with both having 200 rooms on-site.

Mike Patel, who heads Joliet-based Posh Hospitality, said the company bought the Clarion “to expand our portfolio. We wanted to do banquet halls and restaurants.”

Posh specializes in buying existing hotels and renovating them, Patel said. Outside Joliet, Posh owns a Best Western Plus in Bourbonnais that it acquired in 2020 and closed down for six months for remodeling.

The company currently is remodeling its former Quality Inn on Larkin, which will reopen under a new brand. Posh also owns the Comfort Inn North, which is open during remodeling, and the Best Western Plus in Joliet.

Posh is investing more than $2.5 million in remodeling the former Quality Inn and Comfort Inn North, Scott said. Another $1.5 million will be spent on the Clarion over the next year before work is done.