White Elephant Preparing For Major Offseason Renovation

The White Elephant, one of Nantucket's largest and most well-known hotels, is preparing for a major renovation over the off-season.

When the hotel reopens in May 2023 for its 100th anniversary, guests will enjoy a "metamorphosis" inside the iconic property, where a multi-million "top-to-bottom" renovation of the 66-room hotel and 11 cottages will soon get underway.

The hotel plans to stick to its usual offseason schedule - closing after Stroll weekend and reopening its residences and the Brant Point Grill restaurant in mid-April 2023. The renovated hotel in cottages will reopen in early May.

Island residents have been watching local social media pages, where the hotel's management has indicated it will be giving away many mattresses and box springs that will be replaced during the renovation.

White Elephant Resorts, which is owned by Steve Karp's New England Development, has hired Elkus Manfredi Architects to lead the renovation project. The design firm "has conceived of a bright, airy, residential-inspired refresh, drawing on the essence of Nantucket—its history, the quality of light, its natural landscapes, the colors, textures, and artistic legacy—to breathe new life into these historic accommodations," White Elephant Resorts said in its announcement.

The project includes guest rooms as well as the main lobby, and new artwork will be installed throughout the property. The White Elephant has a "artist in residency program" that it launched over the summer with New York-based art consultant and curator Emily Santangelo. She worked closely with the Karp family to create a mini-residency made up for acclaimed artists from around the world.