PUTTING ON A NEW FACE GIDEON PUTNAM RENOVATES.(Local)

Byline: Winifred Yu Staff writer

It's one of the area's most elegant hotels, but these days, the interior of the Gideon Putnam is hardly the portrait of opulence.

Ladders and paint tarps are scattered about, while chairs stand unused in stacks. Ceilings have been removed from some of the rooms, and the smell of paint and chemicals fills the air.

Fortunately, the disarray isn't permanent. Rather, it marks the Gideon Putnam's first phase of a two-part renovation, its first since 1977 when the conference center was built.

"The first phase is the most uninteresting part," said general manager Kenneth Boyles of TW Recreational Services, a Chicago- based hotel operator.

Last year, the company signed a 15-year operating lease with New York state, which owns the 55-year- old hotel. "Part of our requirements is to invest over $5 million from TW Rec Services to upgrade the hotel," Boyles said.

All told, he said, the company is spending $5.2 million on the project, $3 million for work on the hotel alone. The remaining funds will go toward renovating the two nearby bathhouses, Roosevelt I and Roosevelt II.

"We're trying to build up the quality of the hotel, so we will become a full-service destination spa," Boyles said. At the same time, he added, "we are trying to maintain the integrity of the building. It's very challenging."

Work on the first phase began Jan. 9. With a crew of workers from U.W. Marx Inc., a Troy-based general contractor, the company began to install new kitchen appliances and new plumbing, sprinkler and hot water systems.

A major part of the renovations included removing the asbestos that was used to insulate pipes. "It needed to be removed because of the age of the insulation," said Joe King, supervisor of park operations for the regional office of the state Department of Parks and Recreation. "We wanted to take no chances with the erosion of the wrapping."

In addition, the company put new wallpaper, paint and carpeting in the ballroom, and purchased 40 new queen-sized beds.

The first part of the project is due to be completed this weekend, in time for Easter brunch on March 26.

The second part of the project commences this fall, when - among other things - new ceilings, drapes and shower fixtures are to be installed in the hotel's 132 guest rooms. New heating and air conditioning systems will also be installed and rooms will be given individual temperature controls. The hotel will continue to operate in sections not undergoing renovations.

Outside at the bathhouses, new roofs and floors will be installed. Most of the work on Roosevelt I was completed last year, and the bathhouse continues to offer massages and mineral baths year- round.

The renovated Roosevelt II, however, will feature an exercise facility, complete with bodybuilding equipment and aerobics classes. A cosmetics center that includes facials and pedicures will also be added. Come spring 1990, Boyles said, the Gideon Putnam will be a destination spa.

"People come here and they want to be pampered," Boyles said. "They want things at their fingertips."

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PHOTO - CREDITLINE

CHECKING OUT NEW TOOLS - Otto Korner, Gideon Putnam head chef for 20 years, examines some of the new equipment that has been installed in the kitchen. Hotel's sign is inset.