OXFORD — After ups and downs, lawsuits and setbacks, Oxford’s first hotel is finally open for business. 

The 93-room, five-floor Hampton Inn at 153 Main St. on Route 26 opened its doors to guests Monday, Dec. 19.

According to the central reservation desk, all but 20 of the 93 rooms were booked for Tuesday, Dec. 20.

“It’s time,” front office manager Andrew Cavanaugh said early Monday afternoon as he and other associates waited for the final permission from parent company Hilton Hotels to open for guests.

The long-awaited opening date of the hotel has been pushed back several times since the company broke ground in March 2014. An occupancy permit was issued  Monday, Dec. 12.

Completion of the hotel has been beleaguered by liens from contractors. In October, general contractor Calamar Construction of New York sued a local framing company for nearly $470,000, citing deficient work and failure to complete the scope of work, which Calamar says delayed the overall project.

The complaint filed in Oxford County Superior Court on Oct. 5 against Stephen Bourassa, owner of Alexander Construction in Minot, asks for a judgment of $469,564 for breaching the subcontractor’s contract, including not having an adequate workforce, not completing work on time, causing delays to other subcontractors and major deficiencies in its work. Bourassa has filed a counter claim.

Alexander Construction was hired by Calamar Construction, which was hired by developer GIRI Oxford I of Massachusetts, to build the hotel on Route 26. The company was fired in January.

Framing of a building is one of the first steps taken in construction and considered to be the foundation for all other work on the building.

At least three other liens have been placed on the project by subcontractors throughout the construction process. Most have been resolved, according to Calamar Construction.

In November, local officials refused to sign off on an occupancy permit citing deficiencies.

A conditional certificate of occupancy was issued Nov. 17 by Code Enforcement Officer Joelle Corey-Whitman with nine items, ranging from addressing holes in the main lobby and cafeteria area to electrical conduit work. Additionally, all state inspection forms had to be forwarded to the town.

Plumbing that was found to be incomplete or incorrect during the Nov. 17 inspection had to be reinspected, according to the conditional certificate of occupancy.

On Dec. 12, Corey-Whitman issued the certificate of occupancy to GIRl Hotels for the Hampton Inn.

The roughly 4-acre property on Route 26 was sold by Suzanne Hall, owner of Crestholm Farms, to GIRI Oxford I, a subsidiary of GIRI, in November 2013.
It is directly across the street from the Oxford Casino where another hotel is being built.

Cavanaugh said the hotel hopes to attract not only casino patrons but skiers taking Route 26 to the slopes. There is no other year-round chain hotel directly on Route 26 between Maine Turnpike Exit 63 in Gray and the Bethel area where Sunday River Ski Resort is located.

ldixon@sunmediagroup.net