The Hampton Inn on Route 17, Gloucester, is under new ownership, has a new general manager and has begun extensive renovations.

The new owner is Ebbitt Corporation of Herndon, while the new general manager is Wilber Flores of Chester.

A state-of-the-art exercise facility will open at the hotel soon, Flores said, with other renovations to be completed later this year and next.

 Flores has 25 years’ hotel experience—all with Ebbitt properties. He has worked at Ebbitt-owned hotels in the Richmond area, in Maryland and Florida. The local Hampton Inn has 84 guest rooms. Features include an indoor pool for year-round swimming, a snack shop, breakfast buffet, and an exercise room.

Construction projects in Gloucester benefit the hotel as many out-of-town workers are housed there for weeks on end, Flores said. The hotel is popular in the summer as a stopping-off point for people heading to the Outer Banks, he added.

Flores heads a staff of 20 full- and part-time workers. H...