Looking for a great getaway that isn't too far from home? Check out Erin Kiernan and Sonya Heitshusen's story on the Hotel Pattee in Perry.

PERRY, Iowa — For our first “Great Iowa Getaway” we’re featuring an old business that’s new again, thanks to new owners.

“We work hard,” says Denise Hartz, “we’re here seven days a week but we love it – it’s our fifth child.” And like any proud parent, these small business owners want you to love their baby. You could say they “adopted” it a year and a half ago.

“I’ve lost 13 pounds since we bought the hotel,” Jay Hartz says with a laugh – but he isn’t kidding. He and his wife are pouring their hearts and a lot of hard work into this historic hotel. “Denise and I are the first owner-operators of the hotel to be here every day. You saw my wife earlier, she doesn’t slow down, and she works crazy hard.” Denise doesn’t disagree. “It’s fast paced but I’m a pretty fast paced person. Jay tells me to slow down but it’s not in my DNA!”

It’s a good thing because although the Hotel Pattee in Perry is priceless to a lot of people, it has also closed twice. “The residents here are very, very proud of this hotel and it’s kind of the anchor of the community,” Jay explains, “when it wasn’t doing well and it was closed there was a sense of disappointment.”

In the 1990s Perry native Roberta Ahmanson Green poured more than $10 millioninto the dilapidated property, filling it with gleaming woodwork, historic fixtures and more than 100original oil paintings.