A $1.3 million renovation of the Best Western Plus Flathead Lake Inn and Suites near Somers has wrapped up, with a new lounge and restaurant now open for business in the hotel complex.

Hotel owners recently secured a beer and wine license for the Hub 406 lounge that launched two weeks ago. The area had been walled off and was largely unused for several years, but now offers limited restaurant fare such as soup, salads, pizza, lasagna, spaghetti and fettuccine alfredo, along with a variety of finger foods, said General Manager Scott Rieke, who is a business partner with Eric Bahme in the ownership of the 60-room hotel.

The extensive face-lift included new carpeting, flooring, furniture, wall covering and decor throughout the facility located at the intersection of U.S. 93 and Montana 82.

“We wanted a timeless Montana theme,” Rieke said about the furnishings that feature wood accents and earth tones.

Another new addition to the Best Western Plus is a remodeled three-bedroom home located directly behind the hotel that can be rented by the night, with a two-night minimum stay.

“With the rise of the Airbnb and VRBO (vacation rental by owner) properties, this house offers the convenience and safety of a brand name,” Rieke said.

The home, tucked into a wooded area, sleeps up to eight.

“We have had wedding parties and families stay here,” he said about the separate dwelling. “Guests can use the hotel pool and hot tub and can run over for breakfast, yet have the seclusion they want.”

The 5,000-square-foot ballroom in the hotel is a pivotal amenity for large gatherings. It seats 300 with round tables and up to 600 with theater-style seating, Rieke said. It also was renovated with new furnishings. The ballroom is used for weddings, business meetings and conferences, among other larger gatherings and church services.

A “marketplace” snack bar in the lobby is a new feature of the hotel.

Other amenities include a business center, conference room, 52-foot lap pool and accompanying hot tub, and an expansive breakfast room on the second floor that offers a panoramic view of the Columbia and Swan mountain ranges. Homemade pastries and other breakfast dishes are offered as well.

The hotel property has had several owners since Chris Levengood built the complex in 1980. Levengood sold the property to a group that reopened it as a Ramada Inn in the late 1980s. The landmark hotel was closed off and on for years and reopened in 2000 as the White Oak Lodge.

In 2012 Bahme, Val and Linda Munson and Rieke, the Munsons’ son-in-law, took over the property and renamed it the Best Western Plus Flathead Lake Inn & Suites. The Munsons have since retired.

While the hotel operates as a for-profit business, the owners have applied Christian values to their business model, helping out the community and local Christian ministries.

“Our vision is that instead of stuffing our pockets with our own profits, we can help nonprofit ministries,” Rieke said.

Bahme is involved with the Building God’s Way, an Ogden, Utah, company that offers church design and building services to Christian ministries.

The focus on community and customers has grown the hotel’s business over the past four years. The hotel earned Best Western’s Champion Award recently, putting the Flathead Lake Inn & Suites in the top 10 percent for customer care in North America.

Trip Advisor has given the hotel its Certificate of Excellence for the last four years running.

Rieke reported a great summer season and an especially busy September.

“We’re excited about the changes we’ve made,” Rieke said. “We’re turning it into something successful.”

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.