Flathead set to add more than 400 new rooms

Overnight lodging in the Flathead Valley is multiplying nearly as rapidly as the area's housing developments.

Last year, there were nearly 3,000 rooms available throughout the valley, according to the Flathead Convention and Visitor Bureau. Within the next year and a half, more than 400 new rooms could be added as new hotels are built and existing hotels expand.

. Construction of a Hilton Homewood Suites at Hutton Ranch Plaza along U.S. 93 in north Kalispell may begin as early as July. Developer Phil Harris closed the deal with Hilton last week.

"We're hopeful, and I think they're hopeful, that they'll commence construction in July or August this summer and be ready for opening late spring next year," he said.

Harris hasn't seen the final design but says it will be a multistory, all-suite building with 115 to 120 rooms. It's designed for travelers planning a more extended stay, he said.

. Another Hilton hotel may be built at the old Montana National Guard armory near the Kalispell City Airport on U.S. 93 near the south end of town. Gateway Hospitality Group and longtime hotel businessman Joe Guilbault of Lakeside want to buy the 3.4-acre site and build a 148-room Hilton Garden Inn, as well as a conference center, upscale restaurant and casino.

On May 3, the Kalispell City Council approved the concept of selling the site and gave general approval to a detailed sales agreement. Before the sale is finalized, however, Guilbault and Gateway must agree to terms the council added at the meeting.

These include a requirement that the complex pay a minimum of $130,000 every six months in property taxes and payments in lieu of taxes until May 2009.

At the May 3 meeting, Guilbault said charging both property tax and payment in lieu of taxes was unfair; typically one or the other is used. He also says the complex should pay taxes on its value for that year, since it could take three to four years to operate at its full potential.

Guilbault also disagreed with the idea of the city getting 10 percent of the net profit should Gateway sell the property.

He is, however, confident that both of these issues will be resolved at Monday's City Council meeting.

"If we can resolve the two issues we've got, and I think we probably can - there has to be a little give and take on both sides - we'd like to be demolishing the buildings by mid-June," Guilbault said. "Our hope would be that we would be open for business (at least the hotel part) by July 2007. But that's kind of optimistic, to tell you the truth."

. Expansion of the WestCoast Kalispell Center Hotel began in December 2005 and is nearing completion. The $5 million project includes a complete renovation of the 132-room hotel and the addition of 38 new rooms.

The hotel will soon be renamed Red Lion. Ryan Wold, acting general manager, said he hopes to make the transition on June 15.

The WestCoast Outlaw Hotel is for sale, but no one has purchased it yet.

. Red Lion on West Idaho Street in Kalispell became Big Sky Inn on May 1. Buggsi Hospitality Group Hotels, a privately owned hotel development and managing company from Lake Oswego, Ore., bought the hotel in September 2005.

Nothing but the name has changed, said Tami Whitehead, general manager. Big Sky Inn will undergo remodeling sometime in the future.

. The Sleeping Bear Lodge will open at 455 Grand Ave. in Bigfork at the end of May. There is an open house from 5 to 7 p.m. on May 24.

Cheryl Richmond bought the old McCade's Mountain Inn last September, after spending several summers in the valley looking for a business to buy. She'd grown up in Missoula and moved to California after graduating from the University of Montana. After 32 years in California, Richmond decided it was time to come home.

Her family settled in Lakeside in 1894, where it ran a farm, orchard, lumber mill and mining company.

"My whole history is in the Flathead Valley," she said.

Richmond was ready to give up her search for a business and buy a condo so she could still own a piece of Montana. That's when she found McCade's Mountain Inn.

"I ended up buying a bed and breakfast instead," she said.

Richmond remodeled the building, which used to be yellow inside and out and had a sort of "shabby chic" decor, she said. With help from Kathy Ellis, an interior designer, she created seven guest rooms, each with an individual motif, and one common room.

. The Montana Department of Resources and Conservation is negotiating a contract with Holiday Inn. If finalized, a Holiday Inn Express will be built west of Lowe's at Spring Prairie Center along U.S. 93 in north Kalispell.

Depending on the contract, groundbreaking is scheduled for this fall, said Monica Smith, who works in corporate communications.

The 100-room hotel would open in the summer 2007, Smith said.

. The Izaak Walton Inn in Essex has been under new ownership since the beginning of the year. Brian and Mary Kelly bought the hotel from Larry and Lynda Vielleux, who ran it for the last 23 years.

The previous owners will stay on through July, Brian Kelly said, "to help guide me along the way."

Kelly was a blacksmith with the Chicago Fire Department before buying the inn. He and his wife fell in love with Northwest Montana after they bought a house on Flathead Lake seven years ago.

"We just loved it over the years," he said. "It just grew on us."

The Kellys spent about three years looking for a wholesome business to buy, a place they could raise their four children. The Izaak Walton Inn, with its guests and location, was perfect for them, he said.

"It's just amazing," he said. "It's pretty special."

The Kellys hired a few new employees after they bought the inn Jan. 3, bringing the total to 25. All of them are locals, Kelly said, which is important to him and his wife.

"Having a local touch there makes a huge difference," Kelly said.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com