Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, December 13, 1994 TAG: 9412130076
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: BECKY HEPLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MOUNTAIN LAKE LENGTH: Short
The consistently cooler temperatures that make Mountain Lake Hotel such a pleasant place to be in the sweltering summer months are the reason it is abandoning year-round operation.
The Giles County hotel closed to the public Sunday and will not reopen until the first weekend of May. Afterwards, it will be open from May through October.
Hotel manager H.M. "Buzz" Scanland cited last year's ice storms as the crowning blow in a checkered history of winter operation.
"Winter traffic is not that heavy to begin with and then to lose those bookings because of bad weather makes an impossible situation," he said. "It's very hard to go back to those people whose conferences or parties were canceled during the winter and ask them to book with us again."
The unpredictability of the weather makes it difficult for the staff to plan a more efficient operation. The hotel has seen snow as early as October and as late as April. The altitude also complicates the picture. "It may only be raining everywhere else, but we'll be getting snow and ice," Scanland said.
The curvy, mountainous road to the resort has deterred not only guests but staff members as well, united by their common winter driving horror stories.
While hotel employment always has fluctuated by season, from a summer high of 150 full- or part-time employees to 40 to 50 people in the winter, the closing creates an even more drastic impact. Only five to 10 positions remain for the winter schedule, mostly maintenance and security people and sales staff members.
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.