NEW AIRPORT HOTEL OPENS DOORS

A new 100-room hotel just south of Glacier Park International Airport opened to guests on Tuesday. The 62,000-square-foot Radisson-affiliated Country Inn and Suites is the first hotel to go up adjacent to the airport campus.

Kalispell-based custom homebuilder Greg Bain & Company owns the property along with partner Matt Brister. They’re hoping to capitalize on the property’s proximity to the airport while providing guests a focus on Montana culture.

“We’re very custom. Greg wants everything to feel very Montana,” said Jyl Sincavage, general manager of the new hotel.

Earlier in the planning phases Bain described the desired aesthetic as “rustic elegance.”

The four-story hotel includes 21 king suites, as well as standard rooms with one or two queen beds.

Much of the interior decoration has been sourced from local businesses. The furniture that Bain didn’t build himself was purchased from Wright’s Furniture in Whitefish. A life-sized mountain goat mount purchased from Wright’s stands watch over the lobby from a podium above the front doors. Photographs of young wildlife are also displayed in each room.

Hotel services include a shuttle to and from the airport, as well as to restaurants and stores within a 10-mile radius.

The hotel shares no affiliation with Glacier Park International Airport, but sales manager Austin Smith said they hoped to cultivate a close working relationship.

“We are a hotel that would like to be partners with the airport,” Smith said. “It has to be a symbiotic relationship.”

The airport has seen continued growth for the past five years. In 2016, the airport saw a record-breaking 492,522 passengers come through its doors — up almost 5 percent from the previous year.

Smith also said that while they hope to take advantage of their proximity to all the air travelers, they also feel well-positioned to cater to tourists visiting Glacier National Park or Whitefish Mountain Resort.

The hotel amenities include a free continental breakfast, a fitness center and pool, and a 1,000-square-foot meeting space. The hotel also offers an outdoor seating area with sweeping mountain views.

The 9-acre property includes space the developers hope to use to attract a restaurant and convenience store.

The new hotel will require about 25 employees. Sincavage said they’ve had good luck finding quality applicants, despite low unemployment rates, and she suspected that had to do with the benefits offered to full-time employees.

Standard rooms begin at $161 per night, and king-sized suites begin at $209. The hotel also offers park-and-stay packages, which include pricing for up to a week of parking along with a shorter stay for people flying in and out of the airport.

The hotel was accepting walk-in business only for its first few days of business, and reservations can be made online anytime after June 17.

More information on the hotel is online at www.countryinns.com/kalispell-hotel-mt-59901/usaglmt.

Reporter Peregrine Frissell can be reached at (406) 758-4438 or pfrissell@dailyinterlake.com.