WOODLAND — In the latest sign of growth here, what was formerly Quality Inn has reopened under the Best Western brand and a completed a $1.3 million renovation.
The two-story building, adjacent to Interstate 5, underwent a year-long update of everything “from floor to ceiling.”
The new owner, Harj Singh Virk of Portland, owns a half dozen Best Westerns throughout the region, including one each in Vancouver and Long Beach (formerly Super 8). Singh Virk purchased the Woodland inn from a family friend, Onkar Dhaliwal, last spring.
“We stumbled upon this opportunity. … The town is developing and there’s also the casino that is being built just three miles south of us. So you know there’s a lot of development ongoing on in the area and it’s right next to I-5,” said Singh Virk, 31, referring to the Cowlitz Indian Casino rising at Exit 16 near La Center.
Originally from India and raised in the United States, Singh Virk said he’s essentially spent his entire life in the hospitality industry. His parents owned two hotels in Southern Oregon.
“I went to hospitality school at my house,” he quipped.
“It’s a fun industry. There’s never a dull moment. I like meeting people from different regions, from different cultures, and keeping up with the trends and the changes in the business.”
After buying the Woodland property, he immediately launched a remodel and brand conversion.
Hotel manager Jessica Sandoz pulled out a thick packet of detailed standards the hotel had to meet before taking the Best Western name. The guidelines include a checklist of instructions for hotel conversion, from repairing cracks in the parking lot to the size of curtain rods in rooms.
The remodel added a new elevator, expanded the breakfast room and fitness center, improved the pool area and redecorated the entire hotel with dark wood, chocolate brown, burnt orange and red colors. Each room has new beds, furniture and televisions, and each has a quartz bathroom sink and new light fixtures, among other changes.
Speakers pipe light jazz into the entry area, where a gas fire burns in front of soft couches. A designer-cut custom marble flooring in geometric sun-burst shapes decorates the front desk area, which is bordered by silver-toned light fixtures.
“I hear a lot of people say, ‘I can’t believe this isn’t a ‘Plus,’ ” Sandoz said, referring to the higher-quality hotel that is typically above a regular Best Western. “We definitely offer many of the same amenities” as the Best Western Plus in Vancouver, such a bigger breakfast area and the same thread count for sheets and towels.
A third-party assessment of the hotel placed it among the top 13 Best Westerns for cleanliness and the top three for Internet speed among the 300 hotels a regional district, Sandoz said.
Since the renovation’s completion in March, Sandoz said there has been a slight uptick in customers. She expects the 51-room hotel to be even busier during the summer. The renovation allowed her to hire one additional front-desk receptionist and four part-time housekeepers. Overall there are about 12 to 15 employees throughout the year.
Prices rose slightly after the remodel (at least $10 more a night, although prices vary based on season and room size).
The Long Beach location also recently underwent a similar extensive remodel, and the Vancouver location, at 9420 N.E. Vancouver Mall Drive, got a less-extensive upgrade, too.
Sandoz and Singh Virk expect business to continue to grow as nearby construction projects come to fruition. The hotel already offers discounts for casino construction workers and is looking ahead to construction of the McMenamin’s Hotel in Kalama.
“I definitely think Vancouver’s growth will trickle more into Woodland. It’s definitely getting bigger, and I think there’s going to be a lot of business,” Sandoz said.
