Real estate investors Cassandra and Dan Tollens are ready to show off the work they’ve done on the latest addition to their boutique hotel portfolio on Pleasure Island.

Through a limited liability company with other partners, the Tollens bought the former SeaWitch Inn at 224 Carolina Beach Ave. N. along the Carolina Beach oceanfront in October for $4.5 million, according to property tax records. They then renamed it The Boardwalk Inn and refreshed and updated the property.

On Wednesday from 5:30 to 7 p.m., the Tollens are hosting a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony for The Boardwalk Inn, with live music, cocktails, food and raffle baskets.

The Tollens also own Carolina Beach Inn, Carolina Beach Motel and Seabirds Motel in Kure Beach. 

“As many locals know, my husband, Dan, and I take great pride in preserving and revitalizing the classic mom-and-pop motels that make our island so special,” Cassandra Tollens said in a Facebook post about Wednesday’s celebration.

Dan Tollens said the couple was able to create two rooms to enlarge The Boardwalk Inn from 16 to 18 units. One of the new rooms takes the place of the office, as one way the Tollens have modernized the hotel is by implementing self check-in.

“We come in and streamline and automate things, so we've got self check-in and remote door locks and all new data systems and camera systems,” he said.

It was also important to the Tollens, he said, to make the hotel pet-friendly. Other amenities include a deck overlooking the ocean and a swimming pool that's eight feet deep.

An Embassy Suites hotel is planned across the street, but the Tollens don’t expect much disruption or competition, Dan Tollens said, because boutique hotel customers are seeking a different experience.

Even in the off-season, demand is high for boutique hotel rooms at Carolina Beach, Dan Tollens said.

Since they reopened The Boardwalk Inn in February, “we've been sold out just about every single weekend,” he said.