Mystic — Lou Carrier, president of the Distinctive Hospitality Group, which owns the Hilton Mystic, expects jaws to drop this summer when the hotel’s ongoing renovation is complete.

“We really think people are going to be impressed,” Carrier said Friday in an interview.

Carrier had promised an “aggressive” makeover of the four-story property when DHG acquired it nearly a year ago. Work on the 182 guest rooms began earlier this month, with half the rooms on a single floor being renovated at a time. Improvements to the lobby, the bar and restaurant, bathrooms, the pool and fitness areas, landscaping and exterior lighting will follow.

A two-bedroom, presidential-style suite, the hotel’s first, is being added in the process.

“The hotel had not received a lot of attention in quite a few years,” Carrier said. “We came in with our eyes wide open but with a serious commitment to re-establishing the hotel as a premier destination.”

He said the hotel will remain open during the work, which is being carried out in a way that minimizes the disruption for guests.

Though he declined to specify the amount DHG is investing, Carrier said the cost of the project is double what it would be in the case of a regularly scheduled upgrade of the hotel. Typically, he said, such renovations are done every seven years.

“People in the area have been longing for something to happen here,” he said. “We fully believe what we’re doing will surpass some high expectations.”

Distinctive Hospitality Group partnered with CBT Architects of Boston on a redesign of the property, intending to incorporate a Mystic "feel."

"Stylistically,” Carrier said, “the hotel had never fully synchronized with where it was living. You can’t be in the epicenter of Mystic, the history of the Seaport, the drawbridge, the aquarium and not acknowledge that you’re residing in a special place.”

He said the redesign will pay homage to the area’s nautical past and introduce contemporary elements as well.

C.E. Floyd Co., a Connecticut-based general contractor, is spearheading the construction.

“We’ve had great success with C.E. Floyd in recent years,” Carrier said. “Whether new construction like the Madison Beach Hotel (in Madison) or renovation projects in some of our Boston-area hotels and restaurants, they’ve been creative, collaborative partners who do what they say they will.”

Distinctive Hotel Group, based in Natick, Mass., is a privately held hotel ownership and management company. Its portfolio also includes hotels and restaurants in Natick and Somerville, Mass.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com

Twitter: @bjhallenbeck