Cool City Motel

Renovation Update!
Things are getting REAL in our first fully renovated room! 🙌

The flooring is going in, most of the furniture is built, and all those little pieces we’ve been planning for months are finally starting to come together.

And the best part?! Our first guest will be staying in this room in just TWO WEEKS! 😳🎉

There’s still plenty to finish (and probably a few late nights ahead 😂), but we are SO excited to finally be this close to showing you the finished space!
We can’t wait for you to see it!

One year ago today, on August 15th, we officially became the owners of Cool City Motel.

But our story actually began months before that.

For months, Brian and I quietly planned behind the scenes. We spent countless evenings dreaming, running numbers, talking through every "what if," and wondering if we were truly ready to take such a bigger step in our business. We didn’t tell a soul- not our family, not our friends, not the City. No one knew what we had up our sleeves, and in fact, nobody found out until the day we closed and it hit social media. The part that surprises most people? Cool City Motel wasn’t even for sale.

We had positioned ourselves to take a big step, but we just didn’t know exactly what that step would be. For years, we had driven past this property and made comments about how cool it would be to own it someday. Eventually, Brian decided to find out if "someday" could actually become a reality. He spent some time tracking down the owner, who lived in Chicago, and made the call that would change our lives.

"Would you ever consider selling Cool City Motel?"

His response?

"Yeah... possibly."

That was all Brian needed!

The very next week, we were meeting him on-site for a walkthrough.

We spent hours walking through every room, crawling through dark crawl spaces, asking questions, inspecting every inch we could, and imagining what this place could be. Eventually, the three of us sat down in a dim, outdated (and frankly, pretty creepy) motel room and started negotiating. By the end of that day, we were under contract. And just like that, something we had casually talked about while driving by for years was actually happening.

Over the last year, we've poured our hearts into bringing that vision to life. There have been long days, late nights, early mornings, countless weekends, and more learning than we ever expected. Every decision and every improvement has been made with one goal in mind: creating a place where our guests feel welcome, comfortable, and cared for.

Some of the changes are easy to see: a completely remodeled office, refreshed landscaping, new lighting, exterior painting, new windows and facia, and brand-new exterior doors.

But so much of what we've invested is hidden behind the scenes. New plumbing and electrical. New commercial water heaters, updated laundry rooms, new amenities and infrastructure improvements that guests may never notice, but that make the motel safer, more comfortable, and built for the future. Those projects may not make the before-and-after photos, but they're every bit as important to us.

One thing many people may not realize is that we're a very small team. While we do work with a few trusted subcontractors for specialized projects, the majority of the work has been done by us. From demolition and painting to landscaping, cleaning, assembling furniture, and countless projects in between, we've been hands-on every step of the way. Progress doesn't always happen overnight, but every improvement has been made with care, purpose, and pride.

As you swipe through these photos, we hope you can see not only how much the property has changed, but also how much love, hard work, and care have gone into every decision we've made. We know there is still a lot of work ahead, and we’re embracing every bit of it. Please know we are still in the full swing of renovations- some of our new doors are still being installed, we are waiting for our new sign as well, a new driveway is scheduled and of course our completly renovated rooms. (We are so close to having our first room done!)

As we reflect on this past year, we're honestly overwhelmed with gratitude. This little motel has exceeded every expectation we had. From the incredible support of this community to the guests who continue to choose us, this first year has been more successful than we ever imagined.

When we signed those papers a year ago, we hoped people would believe in our vision. We never imagined just how much encouragement, kindness, and support we would receive along the way. Every reservation, every review, every recommendation, every Facebook comment, and every conversation has reminded us that we're building something special, and we don't take a single bit of it for granted.

To the Two Rivers and Manitowoc communities, thank you for welcoming us with open arms and believing in us. To our guests, whether you've stayed with us once or have returned time and time again, thank you for trusting us and supporting a small, family-owned business through every stage of this journey.

The best is yet to come. We still have big dreams, plenty of projects ahead, and we can't wait to continue sharing this journey with all of you.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for making our first year one we'll never forget.

Here's to Year Two. 💚

Brian & Amanda

This afternoon, we're pressing pause on motel projects for a few hours to support a cause that's near and dear to our hearts🐾

We'll be spending the afternoon with our sweet boy, Boomer, supporting the Humane Society and participating in the pup crawl.♥️

We're Growing Our Team!
Cool City Motel is looking for a dependable, detail-oriented person to help with part-time housekeeping.

This is a casual, flexible position that's perfect for someone looking to earn a little extra income. Because our occupancy changes throughout the season, hours will vary and may be on an as-needed or on-call basis. This position may include weekdays, weekends, and holidays as needed.

Housekeeping experience is a plus, but we're happy to train the right person.
If you or someone you know may be interested, we'd love to hear from you! Please send us a Facebook message, or email us at [email protected]

Thank you!

Can we take a moment for these new exterior room lights?! 😍

We're obsessed with how much they elevate the exterior of the motel. Modern, clean, and welcoming... exactly the look we were going for.

We're getting very close to our new sign being installed!

As we prep the sign post for its new look, we couldn't help but take a moment to appreciate a couple of pieces of Cool City Motel history. These original signs have welcomed guests for many years, and while they'll be retired from the roadside, they're not going anywhere.

We're planning to keep these vintage signs somewhere on the property as a little nod to the motel's past because we believe preserving a bit of its history is just as important as building its future.
We can't wait to share the new sign with all of you soon!

Renovation Update!
It may not be the prettiest photo yet... but this is where the magic starts!

If everything goes as planned, tile installation begins this week 🤞

The best part? Everything for this room has officially arrived!
✔️ New flooring
✔️ New lighting
✔️ New mattress & bed frames
✔️ New furniture
✔️ New lamps
✔️ New bedding
✔️ New décor
✔️ And all the finishing touches!

After months of planning, designing, ordering, and waiting for deliveries, it's exciting to finally be at the stage where everything starts coming together.

We're so close to revealing our very first fully renovated room, and we can't wait to share the transformation with all of you. Stay tuned... it's getting closer every day!

Fresh salmon on the grill this morning.. it doesn't get much better than that! 🎣

Our guests reeled these in this morning and fired up our complimentary grill to smoke their fresh catch at the motel.

And here's the fun part... last weekend another group of fishermen used this same grill for every single meal during their stay!
Seeing our guests kick back, share stories, and make the most of the amenities we've added is one of our favorite parts of this journey!

We're feeling incredibly grateful today.

Reviews like these are truly humbling. As we continue improving Cool City Motel, there's no greater encouragement than knowing our guests are noticing the care, dedication, and hard work behind every improvement we make. Knowing that so many continue to choose us throughout this journey is something we'll never take for granted.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you. The best is still to come. ❤️

We're expanding our Local Guide wall!

As we've welcomed more guests through our doors, we've had many ask for recommendations on places to eat, local attractions, shopping, fishing charters, and things to do while they're in the area. We want to make it easy for them to discover all that Two Rivers and the surrounding communities have to offer.

If you own or represent a local restaurant, shop, attraction, fishing charter, tour, event, or other local business, we'd love to display your brochures in our lobby for guests to explore.

Supporting local businesses helps create a memorable experience for everyone who visits our community. Feel free to stop by during office hours with brochures, we'd be happy to add them to our Local Guide wall!