The new owner of a Trumbull County getaway location plans to turn it into a resort and spa. As wfmj.com first reported on Thursday, the Magnuson Grand Hotel in Howland has been sold to to Avalon Holdings Incorporated.

Today, Avalon Holdings Chairman and CEO Ronald E. Klingle, officially announced the purchase of the hotel and adjoining tennis center. A statement form Avalon holdings says that the hotel will be renamed The Avalon Resort and Spa.

Klingle says that a multi-million dollar renovation and expansion to the existing facility is being designed by Phillips/Sekanick Architects and will include a complete renovation of the existing facility, a new indoor junior Olympic sized swimming pool and a new outdoor resort style pool and hot tub, a 12,000 square foot addition which will provide for new restaurants, bars, a full service spa and salon, extensive conference facilities and a complete fitness center. The improvements are expected to be completed within the next 12 months.

Avalon will also plans to integrate the new resort facilities in with The Avalon Golf and Country Club operations. Avalon’s 4,000 club members will have complete access to the resort’s facilities as part of their existing club membership plan, while guests staying at the hotel will in turn have access to the facilities located at each of the club’s three locations. A limousine shuttle will transport club members and hotel guest between the four locations on a continuous basis.

Once completed, Avalon believes that the combination of the resort/spa and country club operations will create a resort complex and country club experience, "unparalleled in the United States." according to the statement.

The resort will be marketed as an all-season facility that will include:

  • A 144 room hotel
  • 4 outdoor Har-Tru clay tennis courts
  • 7 indoor US Open Deco-turf playing surface tennis courts
  • Racket ball court
  • 3 resort style swimming pools with cabanas
  • Indoor junior Olympic sized pool
  • 2 full service salon and spas
  • 2 fitness centers
  • Outdoor jogging and cycling at the Buhl Park facility
  • 4 banquet rooms
  • State of the art conference centers
  • Meeting and hospitality rooms
  • 9 restaurants
  • 3 wine cellars
  • Cigar shops
  • Regular live entertainment.

Developers say that they plan to make the Avalon Resort and Spa the year round favorite resort destination and conference center for people and businesses located in the northeast and mid-western states.

The Inn last changed hands two years ago, when Magnuson, which represents nearly two thousand hotels in North America and the United Kingdom, announced a partnership that included plans to update the hotel's appearance.

According to the Avalon Holdings website, the Warren based corporation operates Waste Management Services, and also owns the Avalon Golf and Country Club in Howland, which includes operations of the Avalon Lakes Golf Course, Squaw Creek Golf Course, and Buhl Golf Course