Andes Hotel renovation featured on television show
Jan. 10—A Delaware County landmark will be featured on an upcoming episode of a television show
The Andes Hotel will be featured in season five, episode four, of "In With the Old" on the Magnolia Network, HBO Max and Discovery+, said Derek Curl, owner of the business. There will also be a viewing party in the restaurant's new dining room at 6 p.m. Jan. 18. In addition to watching the episode, people will be able to tour the renovated hotel, including its new commissary room for guests.
Curl, who bought the property three years ago, said he had started with light renovations of the historic building. The original building was built in 1850 and was added onto in the 1950s when the motel rooms were also built.
A producer of "In With the Old" lives in Bovina and wanted the hotel to be part of the show. "It's the first commercial property to be featured on the show," Curl said.
He said being approached by the producer got him thinking about what he wanted to accomplish not only at the restaurant and tavern, but also the hotel rooms. He reached out to designer Heather Kerr and contractor Luke van Unen to coordinate what could be accomplished in the short timeframe.
Kerr said they wanted a mid-century modern feel in the hotel rooms, so it looked like motels people would drive up to in the 1950s. At the same time, the room had to cater to the people renting the room. For example, in Room 6, there is a place to store fishing rods, boots and gear, a small kitchenette, a basin sink, a boot warmer, bed, bunk beds, television, phone and bathroom with custom wallpaper, which reflects the Andes area, including a nod to the Anti-Rent War.
"Andes was the epicenter of the Anti-Rent War," Curl said. "While the Delhi Post Office has a mural about the war, there was no mural in Andes. During the renovation, we commissioned an artist to do a modern interpretation of the Anti-Rent War." He would like the mural to be a "talking point" of the room so people coming in who have never heard of the Anti-Rent War can learn something.
Curl said he conferred with the local historical society and Ray LaFever at the Delaware County Historical Association about the hotel's history. LaFever provided old pictures of the hotel, which "were valuable in determining the design" of the renovation, he said.
The dining room was made to look like a rustic hunting lodge, Kerr said. A bleached beaver sitting above the mantle of the renovated fireplace came from Full Circle Antiques in Walton. Kerr said they tried to source items locally for the renovation. The chairs in the dining room came from a camp that closed in Sullivan County. Iron work in the hotel rooms was done by Romo Machine in Andes. Other items came from local flea markets and garage sales.
Local barn wood and rough cut lumber from Dick Liddle's sawmill became door frames and fireplace mantles, Curl said.
An old stove that sat in the corner of the yellow room was also repurposed, van Unen said. Part of it became the base of the new table in front of the fireplace. "When we redid the fireplace it felt like something was missing," he said. "We found a badge on the stove that said Andes, New York."
Doing the renovations during the height of the tourist season was challenging, van Unen said. One day, the team sanded, stained and placed all 480 new wood ceiling tiles in the dining room. "The next day there was an event, so we had to clean it all that night," Kerr said.
The courtyard behind the motel was also renovated, Curl said. "Farmers came with their tractors to help," he said. "We couldn't have done it without the support of the community."
The film crew spent 20 days over a period of five months filming the renovations. The clips were edited down to the 43-minute episode.
Curl said he feels like the episode is a "love letter to the town of Andes."
Vicky Klukkert, staff writer, can be reached at vklukkert@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7221.
