Hampton Inn opens on site of former Campus Inn near Kutztown

A grand opening is planned for Wednesday at the new Hampton Inn and Suites Kutztown.

Owned by the Kutztown University Foundation and its investment subsidiary, Ursus Aureus Inc., the new 100-room hotel was built on the site of the former Campus Inn at 15180 Kutztown Road.

The Campus Inn, which had about 25 rooms, was demolished to make way for the new hotel.

The new Hampton Inn is a four-story hotel in Maxatawny Township less than one mile from the university campus.

Scott Dorn, the chairperson and president of Ursus Aureus Inc. said the foundation saw the need for a larger hotel in the region and saw the project as a good investment.

“The university foundation has a number of very traditional investments that tend to be tied to market conditions,” Dorn said. “We’ve been looking for a different way to divest our investments. We studied a number of alternatives and saw this as a good investment that would benefit the greater community.”

Dorn estimates the hotel cost about $15 million to build.

He said there was a gap in hotel availability in the Kutztown area to serve families visiting students, tourists visiting the area for events like the annual Kutztown Folk Festival and professionals doing business in the Kutztown area.

“The need existed, and we felt this was the right hotel for the market,” he said.

The hotel is a new prototype of the Hilton-owned Hampton Inn brand that offers a more contemporary, modern look than previous Hampton Inn brands. It has an indoor pool, fitness room and two small conference rooms.

The hotel, which has been open to guests for about a month, is being managed by TKO Hospitality Management of Bethlehem, which is run by Kostas Kalogeropoulos, a well-known local hotel manager.

The general manager of the hotel is Ken Conklin.