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The Carolina Inn motel in Loris closed Jan. 2 to make way for a makeover.

When it reopens, under the new name Coastal Comfort Hotel, the decades-old motor lodge will be the new hotel that city business leaders have been hoping for.

鈥淲e need a nice hotel,鈥� said Samantha Norris, executive director of the Loris Chamber of Commerce. And not necessarily to attract a share of the thousands of beach-bound tourists who stream by on the nearby Highway 9 bypass each summer.

Norris said the city has a 鈥済reat鈥� regional health-care facility in Loris McLeod Hospital, but nowhere to stay nearby when a loved one is hospitalized.

Sports tourism at the array of ballfields in the Loris Sports Complex is another reason a nice hotel is needed.

鈥淲e have softball and baseball tournaments nearly every weekend. They have nowhere to stay,鈥� Norris said.

Same goes for persons visiting to attend family and class reunions, weddings and graduations, and events like the Loris Bog-Off Festival and the Small Town, Big Show Car Show, which will attract thousands of visitors from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 19.

And when Donald Gillard of Sweet Gillard鈥檚 Production brought a 50-member gospel choir and a trombone ensemble to Loris this winter for a local production of God鈥檚 Trombones, he lamented that his theater company was forced to stay in Conway instead of in Loris due to the lack of rooms.

Hotel owner Yak Patel is stepping up to solve that problem.

He said he purchased the 32-room, 16,000-square-foot inn on 1.2 acres of land in 2007. It was constructed in 2003.

Patel said he decided to upgrade the facilities after noting the growth in the Loris area. 鈥淭here鈥檚 so many new houses going up,鈥� he said.

He also commented on the growth of new businesses in downtown Loris.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e bringing Main Street back to life," Patel said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be more modern,鈥� he said of the hotel, with short-term rentals 鈥� daily and weekly 鈥� only. He plans to hire four housekeepers, three front-desk staff and a maintenance employee, and offer continental breakfasts for guests in the lobby/dining room.

He said the hotel took a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it became hard to keep the property maintained. 鈥淭he property went downhill.鈥�

Now they鈥檙e playing catch-up, and more.

Patel鈥檚 son Dillon, 25, a Loris High School graduate, is moving back to Loris and will manage the hotel. 鈥淚 have a few years of business under my belt,鈥� he said, noting he previously helped operate a family liquor store.

Yak Patel鈥檚 wife and another son will also assist with hotel operations, including working with booking sites to market the independent hotel.

鈥淒illon and my other son, they鈥檙e the computer-savvy ones,鈥� the father said.

Dillon Patel said the two-story structure at the intersection of Highway 701 and Fox Bay Road is being renovated inside and out, with a goal of reopening in early May, or June at the latest.

There will be a new computer and reservation system, and new signage.

Guest rooms will have new paint, stucco, lighting, mirrors, flooring and furniture, Wi-Fi and cable, and microwave ovens and mini-fridges.

The outside will be repainted a 鈥渟andyish-yellow鈥� color. The hotel will be non-smoking, but an outdoor smoking area will be provided at the rear of the property.

Extensive landscaping is also planned with bright, red mulch.

鈥淲e鈥檙e investing a lot of money in this effort,鈥� Yak Patel said.

鈥淚鈥檓 excited about it, helping out at the front desk, helping with housecleaning, lots of work,鈥� Dillon Patel said. 鈥淚鈥檓 ready for it."