Kanata Hotel

The former Holiday Inn Express at Highway 97 and Banks Road has a new owner and new name.

Best Canadian Motor Inn Management of Summerland bought the 190-room hotel and convention facilities for an undisclosed amount this week and rebranded it Kanata Kelowna Hotel & Conference Centre.

“We like Kelowna and see the potential for our three-star Kanata Hotel brand there,” said Best Canadian president Robert Campbell.

Campbell and the company are headquartered in Summerland because it’s where Campbell wants to live and where his other business interest is – Dirty Laundry Winery.

The Kanata possibility came to fruition after the previous owner-operator and Holiday Inn’s parent company didn’t renew their contract.

The license was bought up by P.R. Hotels of Kelowna and it opened a new 120-room Holiday Inn Express in the new plaza at the corner of Highway 97 and Highway 33, which also includes Booster Juice, Rogers Wireless, Red Wing Shoes and Basil Leaf Noodle House.

P.R. Hotels also owns the nearby Fairfield Inn and Suites on Highway 97 and the Fairfield in Saskatoon.

The Kanata has temporary identification right now, but will get permanent signage in about a month.

An extensive renovation of the original 120-room, four-storey older building is also getting underway to revamp guest rooms, hallways, the lobby and breakfast restaurant and give the exterior a Canadiana wood and stone facelift.

The 70-room, seven-storey tower was added on in 2010, so it doesn’t need a big reno yet.

The company has 14 hotels in Western Canada with five Kanatas (Kelowna, Invermere, Whitecourt, Blairmore and Fort Saskatchewan) and eight Best Canadian Motor Inns (two in Fort McMurray, Hinton, Peace River, Lloydminister, Drayton Valley, Lac La Biche and Coleman).

Steve MacNaull is The Okanagan Weekend’s business and wine reporter and columnist. Reach him at steve.macnaull@ok.bc.ca.