The newly remodeled WestBank Lounge |
The property at 525 River Parkway was padlocked in August 2014. That was when the tower next door went into foreclosure after the owner, Idaho Hotel Holdings, filed a default judgment against the management company, Om Shiv Ganesh LLC, for more than $3.4 million. Om Shiv Ganesh also had been managing the motel and convention center, but when the tower went into receivership convention center owner Dane Watkins decided he would shut it down while he looked for a new operator.
The tower was sold at auction in 2015 and is now run as a Rodeway Inn by Idaho Falls Lodge LLC, a subsidiary of Choice Hotels International, which franchises more than 6,300 hotels in more than 35 countries and territories. Since late November or early December, the remodeled lounge and restaurant, now called the WestBank Restaurant, Lounge & Convention Center, have been managed by the same company.
A few events have been held since November, when remodeling was finished and the lounge reopened. The dining room has been serving complimentary continental breakfasts to hotel guests.
For the grand opening Saturday night, doors will be opened at 7:30 and dinner will begin at 8. Tickets are $55 a couple for dinner and dancing or $120 for dinner, dancing and a hotel room.
For information, call 523-8000. The Facebook page can be found at https://www.facebook.com/westbank.idahofalls/.