OTO Development is set to renovate and rebrand the Dunes Manor in Ocean City, Md. Work is scheduled to begin mid-October and, upon project completion in late spring of 2023, the hotel will reopen as Hilton Garden Inn Ocean City Beachfront. OTO purchased the hotel, which was built in 1987, in December 2021.
The repositioned 12-story hotel will include 170 beachfront rooms with balconies as well as an indoor pool and a nearly 300-foot-long deck overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. It also will have a café, an oceanfront restaurant and bar and 3,000 square feet of meeting and event space.
Partnering with OTO in this total renovation project are //3877, designer; First Finish, interior general contractor; Valcourt Building Services, exterior general contractor; and Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, structural engineer.
OTO Development, which is part of The Johnson Group, develops, owns and operates select-service hotels. In recent years, the company has emphasized purchasing and upgrading beachfront properties in popular locations.
“We’re growing a vibrant leisure portfolio via our strategic shift toward acquiring, physically transforming and rebranding existing assets in prime locations,” OTO Development CEO Todd Turner said in a statement. “Affiliating a well-positioned property like Dunes Manor with the Hilton family of brands creates a powerful draw for travelers who appreciate the consistent quality and numerous benefits of the Hilton Honors brand loyalty program.”
OTO has repositioned several beachfront hotels under the Hilton Garden Inn flag, earning Hilton’s 2021 Conversion of the Year award after turning a former Howard Johnson into a Hilton Garden Inn in St. Pete Beach, Fla.
“Based on our positive experiences converting existing properties into new Hilton hotels, we are extremely optimistic about the potential for this Hilton Garden Inn,” Turner said.