“Right, that’s where the fire started. Downstairs in the records room.
“That’s the restaurant…all the doors are torn up…Next slide. This is where the pool was. Right, that’s where the second fire was. Mattresses thrown in the pool…”
Slide-by-slide, Cobleskill’s Werner Hampel took fellow supervisors through a look inside the wrecked Best Western, Friday.
It’s been nearly a year—May 2023—that Mohammed Jan bought the local-popular Cobleskill hotel--and he’s making great strides toward getting it open, this time as a Ramada by Wyndham.
That in itself is critical, Mr. Hampel said; knowing that the hotel will be a Ramada allows Mr. Jan to begin pricing and ordering everything from carpeting to curtains.
Mr. Hampel hopes to take fellow supervisors inside the Best Western to see what Mr. Jan and his daughters, Esha and Maha, have accomplished in the next few days.
Friday, they got a look at what the Jans were up against.
Almost every exterior window had to be replaced, Mr. Hampel said; inside, the floors were littered with inches of broken glass.
Even though it had been closed since November 2018, a lot of people had been “staying” inside, he said, throwing beds out the second floor windows, kicking in every door, destroying nearly every toilet, sink, and mirror, and smashing almost every plate and glass in the kitchen.
The first fire in the vacant hotel, Mr. Hampel said, was downstairs in the hotel’s record’s room.
It’s still considered suspicious, he said, but there wasn’t enough evidence to prosecute.
The second was caused by vandals, who set fire to mattresses they’d dragged into the empty pool.
In more serious vandalism, Mr. Hampel said just about every piece of copper tubing had been ripped out for resale.
Even when it was all replaced, it took construction crews months to track down all of the leaks, he said.
“It was just an unbelievable mess,” he said. “The damage was almost complete.”
Also missing: 72 air conditioning and heating units.
Mr. Hampel hopes his slides will put things in perspective when supervisors tour the 72-room hotel.
Mr. Jan has said he plans to restore everything—including the bowling alley, pool, and banquet room.
“We’re fortunate to have this man and his family, the money they’re putting into this and their vision,” said Supervisors’ chair Bill Federice.
Meanwhile, its allure to vandals remains irresistible: In January Zackary Smith of North Grand Street, Cobleskill, was arrested and charged with criminal mischief and resisting arrest after video cameras at the hotel showed him breaking a window at the rear of the building and then calling someone to tell them “There’s no one here, come on over,” and being tackled by police.


“Right, that’s where the fire started. Downstairs in the records room.
“That’s the restaurant…all the doors are torn up…Next slide. This is where the pool was. Right, that’s where the second fire was. Mattresses thrown in the pool…”
Slide-by-slide, Cobleskill’s Werner Hampel took fellow supervisors through a look inside the wrecked Best Western, Friday.
It’s been nearly a year—May 2023—that Mohammed Jan bought the local-popular Cobleskill hotel--and he’s making great strides toward getting it open, this time as a Ramada by Wyndham.
That in itself is critical, Mr. Hampel said; knowing that the hotel will be a Ramada allows Mr. Jan to begin pricing and ordering everything from carpeting to curtains.
Mr. Hampel hopes to take fellow supervisors inside the Best Western to see what Mr. Jan and his daughters, Esha and Maha, have accomplished in the next few days.
Friday, they got a look at what the Jans were up against.
Almost every exterior window had to be replaced, Mr. Hampel said; inside, the floors were littered with inches of broken glass.
Even though it had been closed since November 2018, a lot of people had been “staying” inside, he said, throwing beds out the second floor windows, kicking in every door, destroying nearly every toilet, sink, and mirror, and smashing almost every plate and glass in the kitchen.
The first fire in the vacant hotel, Mr. Hampel said, was downstairs in the hotel’s record’s room.
It’s still considered suspicious, he said, but there wasn’t enough evidence to prosecute.
The second was caused by vandals, who set fire to mattresses they’d dragged into the empty pool.
In more serious vandalism, Mr. Hampel said just about every piece of copper tubing had been ripped out for resale.
Even when it was all replaced, it took construction crews months to track down all of the leaks, he said.
“It was just an unbelievable mess,” he said. “The damage was almost complete.”
Also missing: 72 air conditioning and heating units.
Mr. Hampel hopes his slides will put things in perspective when supervisors tour the 72-room hotel.
Mr. Jan has said he plans to restore everything—including the bowling alley, pool, and banquet room.
“We’re fortunate to have this man and his family, the money they’re putting into this and their vision,” said Supervisors’ chair Bill Federice.
Meanwhile, its allure to vandals remains irresistible: In January Zackary Smith of North Grand Street, Cobleskill, was arrested and charged with criminal mischief and resisting arrest after video cameras at the hotel showed him breaking a window at the rear of the building and then calling someone to tell them “There’s no one here, come on over,” and being tackled by police.

“Right, that’s where the fire started. Downstairs in the records room.
“That’s the restaurant…all the doors are torn up…Next slide. This is where the pool was. Right, that’s where the second fire was. Mattresses thrown in the pool…”
Slide-by-slide, Cobleskill’s Werner Hampel took fellow supervisors through a look inside the wrecked Best Western, Friday.
It’s been nearly a year—May 2023—that Mohammed Jan bought the local-popular Cobleskill hotel--and he’s making great strides toward getting it open, this time as a Ramada by Wyndham.
That in itself is critical, Mr. Hampel said; knowing that the hotel will be a Ramada allows Mr. Jan to begin pricing and ordering everything from carpeting to curtains.
Mr. Hampel hopes to take fellow supervisors inside the Best Western to see what Mr. Jan and his daughters, Esha and Maha, have accomplished in the next few days.
Friday, they got a look at what the Jans were up against.
Almost every exterior window had to be replaced, Mr. Hampel said; inside, the floors were littered with inches of broken glass.
Even though it had been closed since November 2018, a lot of people had been “staying” inside, he said, throwing beds out the second floor windows, kicking in every door, destroying nearly every toilet, sink, and mirror, and smashing almost every plate and glass in the kitchen.
The first fire in the vacant hotel, Mr. Hampel said, was downstairs in the hotel’s record’s room.
It’s still considered suspicious, he said, but there wasn’t enough evidence to prosecute.
The second was caused by vandals, who set fire to mattresses they’d dragged into the empty pool.
In more serious vandalism, Mr. Hampel said just about every piece of copper tubing had been ripped out for resale.
Even when it was all replaced, it took construction crews months to track down all of the leaks, he said.
“It was just an unbelievable mess,” he said. “The damage was almost complete.”
Also missing: 72 air conditioning and heating units.
Mr. Hampel hopes his slides will put things in perspective when supervisors tour the 72-room hotel.
Mr. Jan has said he plans to restore everything—including the bowling alley, pool, and banquet room.
“We’re fortunate to have this man and his family, the money they’re putting into this and their vision,” said Supervisors’ chair Bill Federice.
Meanwhile, its allure to vandals remains irresistible: In January Zackary Smith of North Grand Street, Cobleskill, was arrested and charged with criminal mischief and resisting arrest after video cameras at the hotel showed him breaking a window at the rear of the building and then calling someone to tell them “There’s no one here, come on over,” and being tackled by police.