Landmark Brattleboro hotel closed by Irene hoping to dodge bullet this time
BRATTLEBORO, Vt. - With Tropical Storm Irene still fresh in memory, many Vermonters are watching Hurricane Sandy approach with an extra degree of apprehension.
At the landmark Latchis Hotel and Art Center in Brattleboro, general manager Gail Nunziata says the hotel is still trying to pay off more than $600,000 in lost business and other costs seen after the Whetstone Brook flooded during Irene and inundated the basement.
The Latchis was closed for 46 days after Irene. Nunziata says that since Irene, she gets nervous every time there's a significant rainfall.
Sandy is expected to bring more high winds than high water, but Nunziata says the Latchis could be vulnerable. It has hundreds of windows, including big plate-glass ones in the lobby.
