The Jersey City Ramada Hotel celebrated its grand opening with a ribbon cutting ceremony and luncheon on Wednesday. Area tourism and economic representatives marked the event as a step forward in the revitalization of Hudson County.
“There has been a need for a mid-range hotel in this area,” said Sheelagh Wylie, president of the Gateway Tourism Council. “This hotel will fill that need.”
The hotel has 106 rooms and is five stories high. It’s located at 65 Tonnele Ave.
Wylie noted the newly refurbished building is ideal for both families and senior groups, adding that it is located close to New York City and has ready access to public transportation.
“The hotel is perfect for student groups going to the Liberty Science Center,” Wylie said. “It is also ideal for senior groups coming from as far as the Midwest and even Canada, with the exchange rate being so good.”
Miles Berger, the second-generation owner of the hotel, is proud of it and of general improvement in the lodging industry since its decline right after Sept. 11. “All over the hotel industry things went down by 35 percent, but now they’re picking up again,” he said.
Berger added, “The building itself was constructed in the late 1920s or the early 1930s.” He said that the neo-Art Deco structure served originally as a residential hotel. “My father, Nathan Berger, bought the hotel in 1960 and remodeled it in 1965,” he said. “During the construction of the World Trade Center, we housed the electricians’ union for a three-year period.”
In 1989, the hotel closed briefly and reopened as a Quality Inn. The hotel joined the Ramada chain as of January, 2002.
Along with servicing resurgent tourism in the area, the new Ramada is looking to reach out to the community by cultivating relationships with area colleges. Although it is in the planning stage, the hotel plans to provide an internship program with the Hotel Management Program that Hudson County Community College will operate through Fairleigh Dickinson University. Due to its close location to St. Peter’s College and Jersey City State University, the hotel also hopes to accommodate the families of potential students and visiting sports teams.
The Ramada was renovated before the January reopening and now features a new health center offering state-of-the-art fitness equipment. Though the Ramada does not have a restaurant, it does serve a free breakfast in the Caf