The Daniel hotel in Brunswick reopened Friday after three weeks of repairs to the HVAC system. Hannah LaClaire/The Times Record

BRUNSWICK — The Daniel hotel in Brunswick reopened Friday after undergoing three weeks of extensive HVAC repairs.

A soft opening for the restaurant, Coast Bar and Bistro, is scheduled for Monday, according to Jeffrey Cappellieri, hotel manager. 

The Daniel closed its doors Oct. 25, displacing dozens of Bowdoin College families visiting for parents’ weekend and canceling a reservation for a wedding scheduled for Nov. 2. 

Abhijit “Beej” Das, CEO of Boston East India Hotels and its subsidiary Troca Hotels, the company which owns and manages The Daniel, said at the time that though it was a “very difficult decision” to close the hotel and cancel reservations, there was a chill coming and he could not sell rooms without heat, and space heaters were not a viable option. 

The bride was able to move her wedding to The Brunswick Hotel after a last-minute cancellation.

The HVAC system has been broken for months, requiring staff to purchase 42 window air conditioning units for the rooms over the summer and causing flooding in the ballroom. The elevator has also been broken for several months, but Das said that was an unrelated issue. 

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Closing the hotel during the busy summer season was not an option, he said, but he did not answer why he did not schedule the work ahead of time, beyond the difficulties of scheduling contractors. 

At the time, he estimated the hotel would be open by Monday, Nov. 4. He expected the repairs would cost between $50,000 and $100,000, not counting the loss in revenue caused by three-weeks worth of vacancies in the building’s 24 rooms. 

Cappilieri said the HVAC system is repaired.

The Daniel hotel, formerly known as the Captain Daniel Stone Inn, touts itself as “Brunswick’s Hidden Gem.” The Water Street hotel dates back to 1819, and has been renovated and “reimagined as Maine’s newest curated lifestyle luxury hotel,” according to its website.

“We have worked hard to keep The Daniel and to keep it relevant,” Das said, adding that it has had a “difficult” and “storied past.” 

Property records show that the hotel has had at least three different owners in the last 15 years and was on the market for more than two years before Das purchased it. 

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Troca Hotels, “America’s leading cannabis-friendly hotel brand,” acquired the hotel, valued at about $2 million according to property records, in 2013 and began multi-million renovations in 2015. Troca also owns The Stonehedge Hotel and Spa in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts, which the Lowell Sun reported last week, is set to go on the auction block next month. 

In 2018, the hotel was at risk of losing its license over more than $200,000 in unpaid back taxes to the town of Tyngsboro. Das paid the tax bill in full by April, but the Lowell Sun reported he has since fallen behind again, owing more than $70,000 for 2019 and 2020. 

The company also owns Troca One, a “superyacht” on the Boston waterfront. A third property is scheduled to open in Philadelphia this fall. 

Das did not respond to requests for comment this week. 

A previous version of this article incorrectly named the hotel where the bride was able to have her wedding.


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