New renovations aim to ‘raise the stakes’ at the Penn Stater hotel. See inside
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- All guest rooms at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center were renovated.
- The eight-figure project also upgraded key infrastructure and amenities.
- Project officials say the renovations should help Penn State attract more conferences.
University leaders and local officials gathered Thursday to celebrate what should be a new era for Penn State’s flagship hotel and conference center.
The Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center unveiled the results of a wide-ranging renovation project led by the Scholar Hotel Group, which acquired the Penn Stater and the Nittany Lion Inn from the university in 2023. The group’s latest refurbishment project revamped the Penn Stater’s guest rooms and conference spaces while upgrading key infrastructure, all in an effort to help the property maintain its status as one of Pennsylvania’s premier conference center hotels.
“This hotel is very special to the community, the Penn State community, the Centre County community and, frankly, the entire state of Pennsylvania,” said Gary Brandeis, the Scholar Hotel Group’s founder and CEO.
The multi-million dollar project installed new furniture, renovated bathrooms and provided new amenities for all 302 guest rooms, which sales officials said had simply been worn out after decades of use. The hotel upgraded 75 rooms with a pair of king-sized beds while the remaining rooms offer king or queen-sized beds.
Other spaces in the hotel and conference center, including its meeting rooms, common areas, hallways and lobby, were also remodeled or expanded, while new touch screen displays were added to help guests navigate nearby attractions, dining options and local flights.
The project also replaced the complex’s roofs and upgraded key mechanical systems, among other infrastructure fixes.
“Not only did we fix all the things you could see, but we fixed, replaced and repaired everything you can’t see,” Brandeis said. “I often make a joke that people aren’t willing to pay a discounted rate if the roof leaks into their guest room versus paying more if it doesn’t leak. We can’t operate that way. So, not only do you see a lot of new things, but things that you don’t see are also operating and functioning much better than they used to.”
Following its renovations, the Penn Stater’s 55,000 square feet of conference center space still make it the largest conference center hotel within 100 miles, Brandeis said. He hopes the upgrades and added amenities will help the Penn Stater attract more business and serve as a catalyst for the greater hospitality industry in State College, Centre County and beyond.
“We’re ready to raise the stakes here at the Penn Stater,” said Brandeis, a Penn State graduate. “One of the things that we weren’t able to do previously was go after higher-rated business. We’re going to be able to compete with the best conference facilities in the state of Pennsylvania now and even farther than that.
“So, we’re going to go after those bigger conferences, those more expensive conferences, if you will, and go out and get that type of business and bring it here to Centre County, to Happy Valley, and let other people get accustomed to this amazing community that we have.”
Though the hotel’s Gardens restaurant has already received a makeover that is complete with new flooring and countertops, Legends Pub is expected to undergo renovations over the upcoming holiday season. A Dear Joe coffee shop — familiar to those who’ve visited the recently remodeled Nittany Lion Inn — is expected to replace the hotel’s former gift shop in December.
Brandeis declined to share a specific cost for the eight-figure Penn Stater project but told the Centre Daily Times it cost north of $10 million.
He joined Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi and David Kleppinger, chair of the university’s board of trustees, to cut a ceremonial ribbon in front of the hotel’s remodeled lobby. The university president said the hotel plays a dual role as a key destination for new and returning Penn Staters and as a hub for hospitality students working to gain on-the-job experience minutes away from campus.
“You’ve opened up a home again for all Penn Staters,” Bendapudi said. “The name says it all. This is the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center. So, whether it’s prospective families, students that are here to say, ‘Is this my home?’ This will be their welcoming space. If alumni come back 50 years later, as they do, we hope they know that this is the place they will come and stay and know there is always home here for them.”
Benapudi credited Brandeis and his team for being “such a good caretaker of the brand” since Penn State sold the Nittany Lion Inn and Penn Stater via long-term ground leases while keeping the land they occupy.
“I told Gary a long time ago that the reason we thought, and the board thought, you’d be the right partner is because this is a passion project for you,” Bendapudi said. “This is not just one other project. And if you didn’t deliver such an incredible experience, we know you have family and friends that are such ardent Penn Staters that they would’ve made Thanksgiving very uncomfortable for you.”
Brandeis noted his group’s efforts to upgrade the Penn Stater were not quite as challenging as its work to renovate the Nittany Lion Inn, which reopened in 2024 after closing to guests during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Scholar Hotel Group’s work on the nearly 100-year-old campus hotel included adding several dining options, revamping guest rooms and expanding outdoor courtyards.
The group’s other hotels in State College include Scholar State College, the downtown Hyatt Place and a pair of Marriott properties.
Though work on the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center is not entirely finished, the Scholar Hotel Group will soon turn its attention to the Nittany Residence Club, a nine-story luxury condominium-hotel slated for construction on the corner of West Beaver Avenue and North Atherton Street. The hotel, which the Scholar group will operate, held a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday.
This story was originally published October 10, 2025 at 12:37 PM.
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