Goat Island skating rink will be closed this winter. Will it return?

Goat Island's seasonal ice skating rink will not be available this year as Newport Harbor Island Resort shuts down for winter renovations.

“It was just a practical decision,” said Pamela Baldwin, the sales and marketing director for Newport Harbor Island Resort. “The whole property will be under construction. We won’t even have staff on the property to run the ice skating rink.”

In the summer of 2022, Pebblebrook Hotel Trust purchased Gurney's Newport Resort & Marina on Goat Island for $174 million and rebranded the property as Newport Harbor Island Resort. Now, the owners are planning the first massive renovation of the site since the property was purchased. Construction is expected to begin on Nov. 12 and last until April 1, when the hotel will reopen to guests.

“We’re excited about the reopening in April,” Baldwin said. “We are going to have new guest rooms and the public space will be refreshed.”

Although they cannot share too many details about the renovation at the time this article is being reported, Baldwin did share plans to renovate the hotel’s restaurant with a new name and concept. The Pineapple Club, however, is staying as is.

Since the renovation is happening during the winter, the hotel will be unable to host and support its seasonal ice skating rink which has been held on the north lawn annually since 2018. The rink was also closed for the 2020 winter season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Before Gurney’s built its rink in 2018, Newport Skating Center at 4 Commercial Wharf used to host a seasonal ice skating rink, but the business closed to make room for Hammett’s Hotel.

Baldwin said doing renovations during the winter was a strategic decision since it's not during the busy tourism summer season when all hotels throughout the city are regularly sold out of rooms. During the winter renovation, business that would have gone to Newport Harbor Island Resort will just redistribute to other local hotels, Discover Newport Executive Director Evan Smith said, so it should not impact the city’s winter tourism.

“It's a good thing when our hotels get refurbished and renovated because our inventory becomes stronger when all hotels look their best,” Smith said. “I think this is the right way to do it.”

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Although Baldwin said she hopes the ice skating rink returns next winter, she said the owners have not indicated either way whether they are planning to bring it back. Like her, Smith is also hopeful to see the rink return next year.

“I think the ice skating rink is a loss for this winter,” Smith said. “It’s disappointing. We’re going to do everything we can to encourage them to bring it back. We hope and we believe it is their intention to bring it back. It’s just hibernating for this winter.”

This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: Newport Harbor Island Resort closing Goat Island skating rink