Oct. 7--In Spokane with an anniversary to celebrate, we decided to splurge with a stay at the most lavish hotel in town and one of the finest in the Northwest: The Davenport. 

This regional landmark is back in business after a 17-year closure and a restoration that cost more than $30 million and was a labor of love. 

Walt and Karen Worthy of Spokane acquired the hotel in 2000 and spent the next two years restoring the 1914 landmark. 

This is no ordinary hotel. Every room boasts coffered ceilings with crown molding; cross-cut Travertine marble bathrooms and oversized walk-in shower; down quilts and imported Irish linens; and thick, soft terry-cloth bathrobes. The pillows are soft as mounds of whipped cream, and there are feather beds atop the regular mattresses. 

The lobby's soaring gilt and Tiffany-glassed ceiling, its open balcony and signature fireplace are regional gems. 

The Davenport offers old-world elegance with modern convenience, from high-speed Internet in every room to a smoke-free environment throughout the hotel. The cigar room is the only exception. 

A day spa, lap pool and fitness center opened this month, and high-tea service in the lobby by the fireplace is scheduled to start by late fall. 

Our black Labs, Molly and Pete, were truly welcomed at the hotel, not merely tolerated. The staff, ever helpful and serious about seeing to every detail of our stay, offered dog treats as we arrived, and everywhere we went the pups drew a crowd of guests who were missing their dogs back home. 

Walt Worthy, who made his fortune converting supermarkets into office buildings, was keeping vigil at his father's hospital bedside when he made the decision to restore the hotel. 

As he thought about his own life and what he still wanted to accomplish, Worthy decided the time had come to take on the challenge he had mulled for years: restoring the town's most beloved landmark. 

How beloved? When the hotel reopened in July, more than 11,000 people lined up around the block over a weekend of sweltering heat to see it. The Worthys shook every visitor's hand. 

It was a massive restoration effort. The hotel had sat idle for decades, and Worthy had to start over, even moving one ballroom across the street with a crane for safekeeping as he worked on basic structural repairs. 

He restored all the original grandeur, from the frescoes in the ballrooms to the gilt frame around the oil painting that hangs over the fireplace. 

The Palm Court, the hotel's restaurant, was also kicked into high gear, offering white-tablecloth dining from char-broiled chipotle-glazed meat loaf with sour-cream mashed potatoes to sesame-seared yellow-fin tuna with soy mustard sauce and pickled ginger. 

IF YOU GO 

The Davenport Hotel offers 248 rooms and 24 suites. Prices are from $159 per night, with suites ranging from $200 to $1,950, plus 10.1 percent tax; 10 S. Post St., Spokane. 

For more information: 800-899-1482 or www.thedavenporthotel.com. 

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(c) 2002, The Seattle Times. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.