All that will soon change. With a budget of between $1 and $2 million, the new Toll House owners are planning on a makeover for the hotel.

Earlier this month, the Toll House was sold to the Larkspur Hospitality Development and Management Company, an independent hotel group. The company currently owns and operates three hotels—including Larkspur Landing, Candlewood Suites and Hilton Garden Inn—in Northern California and the Pacific Northwest.

Larkspur is also a rapidly growing company. Its venture capital arm recently raised $107 million in funding to build or acquire independent hotels like the Toll House, for both business and resort getaways.

The company's vision for the Toll House is similarly ambitious. Although still in a conceptual phase, Larkspur hopes to upgrade both the Toll House facilities as well as the service. Current plans include making the hotel more amenable to guests by broadening the type of amenities available in the hotel and renovating the outdoor patio to include more flowers and shrubbery.

The company also wants to broaden the appeal of the Toll House to business travelers and vacationing families.

Initial designs for the hotel have received support from the town's officials. Speaking at a lunch for Larkspur executives and members of the city council and chamber of commerce last week, town officials commented positively on the direction the hotel will take next year.

"We appreciate the Toll House as it is but we are looking forward to the improvement," said Los Gatos Vice Mayor Mike Wasserman.

Community members also think the improvements could help increase the flow of business downtown by bringing more visitors to the area.

"They definitely need to try to get more of Silicon Valley in there like a couple of years ago," said Shirley Henderson, owner of the Antiquarium of Main Street. "It would help us."

Despite the new look and feel, Larkspur executives maintain that the Toll House will continue to be an active partner in the community.

"I think the town is clearly one of greatest assets the Toll House has going for it," said Karl Hoagland, president and CEO of Larkspur.

Under its previous owners, the Toll House played a large role in town affairs, even providing free wi-fi to people surfing the web in a nearby park. The Toll House also served as meeting place for a number of local organizations, including groups from the Chamber of Commerce.

"The Toll House has been closely tied to the community," said Mayor Steve Glickman.

Henderson agreed.

"The Toll House has been so supportive of everything that the community has done," she said. "We hope the new people are going to be sensitive to that because we all stick together."

Los Gatos Ventures, the previous owners of the Toll House, decided to sell the hotel because some of the group's partners were facing tax and estate planning issues. Los Gatos Ventures had owned the hotel for the past nine years.

The downturn also contributed to the group's decision to sell.

"I'm sure, if we had a continuation of great economic times of 2000, no one would have thought of selling," said Wayne Levenfeld, a Los Gatos Venture partner. The group will still continue to run the Los Gatos Opera House, which they bought last July.

Levenfeld said that in selling the Toll House, the group looked for a buyer that would continue the traditions of the Toll House.