Red Lion Hotel rebranding as a Radisson

The Red Lion Hotel and Conference Center at South Acadian Thruway and Interstate 10 is switching flags, effective Wednesday. The hotel will now be the Radisson Baton Rouge Hotel and Conference Center. The owners of the hotel, Cajun Lodging, say it was a business decision to switch the brand to the better-known Radisson. The Baton Rouge location was the only Red Lion east of the Rocky Mountains. The hotel previously underwent a two-year renovation that wrapped up in June 2008 to bring it up to Red Lion standards; the main overhaul this time was bringing in new beds and 32-inch flat-screen TVs for the rooms. The hotel has 132 rooms, a bistro and a bar. The Radisson chain had a Baton Rouge location until July 2004, when the current Crowne Plaza Hotel on Constitution Avenue was rebranded as a Holiday Inn Select. The hotel became a Crowne Plaza in December 2008.—Timothy Boone