Historic atrium at French Lick hotel indefinitely closed from storm damage

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Significant damage was reported in several locations in southern Indiana and central Kentucky after two rounds of heavy storms rolled through on Sunday.

Several areas were damaged by the storms, including the historic atrium at West Baden Springs Hotel.

Resort officials said the hotel will remain open to guests, but the atrium will be temporarily closed because of the storm damage.

The hotel suffered hail damage to all 12 of the curved glass panels on its dome, making the atrium area below the dome off-limits until repairs can be completed, the release said.

Hail was reported to be the size of golf balls.

There was no damage to any guest rooms. All the hotel’s restaurants, shops and spas will remain open as well.

CEO of French Lick Resort Chuck Franz said the hotel has survived a period of near disrepair since it was built in 1902 and reopened in 2007 after restoration. He is confident it will bounce back once again.

“We know it’s a gem; we know that when people come here they want to relax in the atrium, so we’re going to work as hard as we can to get it open as quickly as we can,” Franz said. “We got started Sunday night, and our first priority was to temporarily protect the atrium from rain or moisture getting in. We’re working on a solution for repairing the dome, and we’ll have that solution rather quickly. And we’ll keep everybody updated when we get some kind of timeline.”

Everything throughout French Lick Resort remains open as usual, including French Lick Springs Hotel, Valley Tower, French Lick Casino and all resort amenities, the release said.

No injuries were reported from the storm.

“That’s a credit to our staff and all the guests that were here,” Franz said. “I can’t compliment our staff enough for getting everyone evacuated to safe spaces, and our guests for all of their cooperation.”

Guests received a text alert before the storm passed through and gathered on the lower levels.

Franz described what the storm sounded like from a different area of the resort.

“I’m standing at my window...All of a sudden baseball size, tennis ball size hail is dropping down and all you hear is the shattering of windows, the shattering of glass,” Franz said. “That lasted for a good five minutes straight.”

Missy Eckenberg said she came for a relaxing getaway with her daughter.

“My car does have significant damage because of the hail,” Eckenberg said. “We saw hail the size of baseballs.”

Franz said it will cost about $5 million to repair the storm damage across the entire resort. It is not known how long repairs will take.

Any guest with an upcoming reservation at West Baden Springs Hotel can reach out to the resort’s Experience Design Team for any questions or concerns at (877) 496-4965.