Aug. 18, 2006 - A local investor group that is spending $3 million to renovate the Statehouse Inn in Downtown Boise announced Thursday that the hotel has been renamed Hotel 43.

Cameron S-Sixteen Hospitality LLC, a joint venture between Cameron Investments and the S-16 Limited Partnership representing the grandchildren of Idaho billionaire J.R. Simplot, said the hotel also will have a new restaurant operator when renovations are completed sometime in 2007.

Chandler's Restaurant, which operates in Ketchum, Newport Beach, Calif., and Honolulu, Hawaii, will open a new restaurant in Hotel 43. An opening date for the restaurant has not been set.

"Hotel 43 is firmly rooted in Idaho and the name is unique to itself," said Debbie Kapson, regional director of sales for Crossroads Hospitality, a division of Interstate Hotels and Resorts, which has been retained to manage the new hotel. "Idaho was the 43rd state admitted to the union, Boise resides on the 43rd parallel and 43 is a prime number, divisible only by one and itself, all of which speak to the attributes Hotel 43 will have when the renovation is complete."

The joint venture between Cameron and the Simplots plans to market Hotel 43 as a boutique hotel capable of competing with the nearby Grove Hotel by offering high-end services not generally available at the limited-service hotels that have sprung up in Downtown Boise in the past year.

The renovation will include all 112 rooms, the lobby and lounge, as well as the new high-end restaurant.

Officials at The Grove Hotel have said that it is unclear what effect the new hotel would have on Downtown room rates. Rates for Hotel 43 have not been set yet. According to the 2006 AAA Idaho/Montana/Wyoming Tour Book, Grove Hotel's year-round rate for one person ranges from $119 to $129 a night, and from $139 to $149 a night for two people. Weekend rates can run $99 a night, but fluctuate depending on the time of the year and special offers made to incoming groups.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Idaho Statesman, Boise

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