SALINA - The Ramada Inn Syracuse is in the midst of three major renovations this year.

In January, the two-story hotel added an elevator as a result of numerous customer requests. The cost of the project, which was completed in April, was $250,000.

The week of Aug. 21 marked the beginning of renovations to the front facade to modernize the hotel's colonial look into a more contemporary frontage. The project is scheduled to be completed in October and should cost $300,000, says general manager Anthony Mangano.

"In late September or early October, we are going to remove the existing outdoor pool and put in a brand new indoor Pool with a larger exercise facility, a small banquet room, and moremen's and women's restrooms," Mangano says. "We refinanced our mortgage to pay for these renovations."

Mangano estimates the cost of the indoor swimming pool and associated renovations to reach $1.2 million.

The 77,200-square-foot Ramada inn Syracuse, located at 1305 Buckley Road in the town of Salina, offers 150 rooms and 5,000 square feet of banquet space to guests. The hotel employs 85 and houses around 1,000-1,500 guests at this time of year, Mangano says.

"Two-thirds of our revenues are generated by room sales and the remainder by food and beverage sales," Mangano says. "July, August, September, and October are our busiest months of the year."

The Ramada Inn Syracuse is locally owned and operated by Emmi-Mangano Realty. The principals of the real-estate firm are Carmen Emmi and Salvatore Mangano, Anthony Mangano's uncle and father, respectively.

Emmi-Mangano also owns three other hotels in the Liverpool area: Super 8 Motel, Hampton Inn, and Homewood Suites.

"A lot of hotels wait to renovate every seven years," Mangano says. "We are constantly doing some kind of renovations each year."

Last year, the Ramada Inn Syracuse improved its ballroom. The year before, the company changed the standard for bedding, shower curtains, and shower heads. Mangano has also added highspeed Internet access to guest rooms.

Over the past three years, Mangano says the annual revenue for all the family businesses averages around $18 million. Emmi-Mangano Realty, which employs more than 200 people, also manages hardware supply stores, vegetable farms, and other properties in addition to the four hotels.

The three-star Ramada Inn Syracuse offer rates from $109 nightly, and serves a variety of customers, from families to sports teams to corporations.

Emmi-Mangano Realty has owned the Ramada Inn Syracuse since 1981, after buying the hotel from Delta Motor Inns in bankruptcy court.