It’s the news Cobleskill’s been waiting for since 2018:
The Best Western, rebuilt room-by-room, will reopen in the spring—maybe as soon as February—as a Ramada.
As Cobleskill Hospitality LLC, Harry Sandhu and Ricie Dhillon, who together have rehabbed more than a dozen hotels, including two in Cortland, are taking over the project from Mohammad Jan, who purchased it in May 2023.
“It’s the same project,” Mr. Jan said Monday. “Most of the work is done. It’s very close to completition,” with Cobleskill Hospitality now ready to take it over the finish line.
Cobleskill Supervisor Werner Hampel, who helped pull the initial sale of the Best Western together and now, the transfer, credited Mr. Jan for stepping in to save the hotel, closed in November 2018 for code violations.
Two attempts to burn it down followed and when Mr. Jan--and Mr. Dhillon--first walked through it in 2023, the floors were littered with broken glass.
Mr. Dhillon was one of two bidders on the hotel at a March ’23 auction, losing to Mr. Jan, who began gutting and rebuilding the hotel the day after he closed on it that May.
Mr. Dhillon also praised the work Mr. Jan has done, both inside and out, and said they’re looking forward to bringing his plans to completition.
Mr. Sandhu and Mr. Dhillon—their two families are partners—have tackled similar hotel rehabs; they brought a gutted 150-room Ramada now called Cortland Hometown Studios back and reopened a Red Roof Inn next door to it, they said.
They also have nine hotels in New York City and one at the BWI Airport.
Like Mr. Jan, they see opportunity in Cobleskill.
Mr. Sandhu is especially intrigued by the idea of the bowling alley—their first, and part of Phase 2 once the hotel is open.
“Cobleskill has a lot of charm,” Mr. Sandhu said. “We felt that right away. I think the bowling alley will bring a lot of joy back and bring people together.
“Though honestly? It’s not something I ever saw myself doing. This will be a first,” he said with a laugh.
Because of the work Mr. Jan has already done, Mr. Sandhu and Mr. Dhillon are optimistic they can have the hotel reopened by the spring; they expect to begin advertising for employees once they close on the property.
“This was the collaboration we didn’t know we needed,” Mr. Hampel said.
“We’ll always be grateful to Mr. Jan for seeing the potential and now, Ricie and Harry for taking it over.
“A lot of folks have worked very hard on this. The time is really right for Cobleskill and for Schoharie County.”