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Count hospitality industry veterans Al Clarizia and Terri Noyes as the latest people on the Gulf Coast to not really get the whole retirement thing.
The couple ran the Sea Coast Inn Bed & Breakfast on Cape Code for more than 20 years; Noyes took care of front of the house tasks, while Clarizia, a contractor, worked behind the scenes. They recently sold the inn, and began to spend more time in their home on Longboat Key.
Enough time where they saw an opportunity to buy a unique property in downtown Sarasota: Hotel Ranola, a 90-year-old building with eight apartments and nine hotel rooms. “It's a lovely old building,” Noyes says. “We are committed to retaining its original beauty and tradition.”
And like that, the couple is back in business. They bought the hotel and the building. Noyes declines to disclose what they spent on the hotel, but they paid $2 million for the building, according to Sarasota County property records. All the apartments, mostly studios and one-bedroom units, are leased.
On the corner of Indian Place and Ringling Boulevard, Hotel Ranola has had several owners in the past decade. Area entrepreneurs Robert and Kim Livengood bought the hotel in 2008 and rebuilt into an art-deco style property. They owned it for two years, then sold it to another couple.
Noyes and Clarizia plan to keep the aesthetic and decor the same as it's been since 2008. They did make some minor renovations to the inside of the rooms, particularly on linens and carpets. Clarizia says that project goes back to the No. 1 lesson he's learned in hospitality: the first impression is paramount to long-term success.
“When you walk into a building, if it's dirty then people will think the rest of the building is dirty,” Clarizia tells Coffee Talk. “You have to keep the rooms clean and well maintained.”
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