TOLEDO, Ohio — The Days Inn on Miami Street in East Toledo is no more.
After years of complaints of drug abuse and other crime, the property is under new management and a new name.
But the Miami Suites Hotel, as it has now been dubbed, has a difficult legacy to shake off. A little more than a year ago, the former Days Inn was a well-known nuisance property.
"I've seen multiple drug deals here, we hear gunshots," nearby resident Nick Duricek told WTOL 11 in 2022. "We actually had a couple of kids running through the yard with a knife a couple years ago."
However, new owner Patsy Mahadeo said she's willing to take the time and effort to make sure everything is done correctly.
Mahadeo has a background in renovating hotels and restaurants in Canada, but this is her first venture in the United States. While she didn't speak on the record with WTOL 11, her realtor, Jasdeep Sohi, said Mahadeo has proven herself to want to take the hotel to a higher level than the previous owners.
"Oh my god, I would say it's a day and night difference," Sohi said. "Even the guests commend her on her perseverance and all the hard work she's put in."
The former Days Inn went up for auction in early 2022 about six months after a Toledo Municipal Court judge ordered the hotel to close for at least a year due to criminal activity and building code violations. The ruling came after the city filed a lawsuit against the hotel's owner, Toledo Nights, Inc.
In its lawsuit, the city said police were called to the hotel 182 times between January 2018 and November 2020 for reports of assault, domestic violence, fighting, disorderly conduct, theft, robbery, burglaries, and nine drug overdoses.
But there is evidence the new direction is paying off. During WTOL 11's tour of the building, smoke-scented carpets have been replaced by modern flooring, and bathrooms have been updated and retiled.
Documents possessed by Mahadeo show the property has been checked by the Toledo Fire Department as recently as April 3, and has had no fire code violations for the first time in years.
Additionally, the hotel now requires a $100 deposit before guests can book a stay.
"I'm sure guests [prefer] not having to deal with drug addicts and other kinds of issues that previous ownership had in the past," Sohi said. "I think she's on her way to having a great success story."
But there's still more work to be done.
Only 35 of the property's 200 rooms are ready for guests, and the pool remains locked up for the time being. Mahadeo also said they're still courting franchises to take over the restaurant inside.
But the momentum is there, and a year removed, the neighbors can already see the change. A year later, WTOL 11 returned to talk to Duricek, who said there has already been a noticeable difference.
"It's nice to kind of get a little bit back to what it was 15 years ago when I moved in here," Duricek said. "16 years ago, it was just a nice quiet neighborhood and not a crazy hotel with a bunch of overdoses and drug stuff and gang stuff around here."
Mahadeo said she expects the entire hotel to be complete to her standards by the end of this year, with plans for a grand re-opening once it's done. She said the biggest obstacle so far has been finding a family restaurant to take the spot, but she assures that whoever accepts the offer will be given a year of free lease.
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