New hotel slated for Sisters

By this time next year, there will be a brand-new hotel on the west end of Sisters, built, owned, and managed by longtime Sisters residents Steve and Robin Rodgers and their family.

The GrandStay Hotel and Suites in Sisters will have 39 rooms, including two whirlpool suites and four two-room extended-stay suites with kitchenettes. An indoor pool and spa with 16 ft.-by-8 ft. glass garage doors, that open onto a patio during warm weather, is included in the building.

Rodgers estimates the average stay will cost $120-$140 per night with lower rates during the winter.

"We want the hotel to be cost-effective, so that people coming for basketball and lacrosse tournaments have another option for lodging," Rodgers said. "We're looking forward to attracting more overnight people to come to Sisters to help the businesses."

The Rodgers family has owned the property on which the hotel will be built, as well as where the Chevron station sits, for a long time. Steve and Robin came to Sisters in 1972. Steve and his dad bought the property in the late 1970s.

The hotel property is the center lot of three lots located between Railway Avenue and the white fence, with Highway 20 on the north end. The front lot facing Highway 20 will be the location of a new restaurant.

After deciding they didn't want to try to run both a hotel and a restaurant, Rodgers listed the front parcel with Dan Kemp of Compass Commercial Real Estate Services. Rodgers would like to see a "good healthy restaurant" take the space, either local or a national chain. What he won't do is sell to a fast-food restaurant with a drive-through window. He is hopeful to find a purchaser soon so both the hotel and restaurant would open about the same time, reducing the chance of construction going on after the hotel is operating.

The City has granted approval of the site plan for the hotel and the application for building permits has been filed. Depending on how long the permit process takes, Rodgers is hopeful to have the project completed in eight to 10 months.

The design for the hotel is one Rodgers chose from GrandStay, and then local architect Chris Mayes "tweaked the outside design to give it more the look of a lodge."

After investigating a number of hotel chains, Rodgers decided on Minnesota-based GrandStay because they were willing to allow the flexibility in design necessary to match the Western design in Sisters. Other firms he spoke with were too restrictive in their design standards.

Rodgers' own construction firm, LS Rodgers Construction Inc., will build the project. He and Robin will be the owners/operators, and their 30-year-old son Kris will be the manager. Kris will attend manager's school at the GrandStay headquarters. If management assistance is needed after opening, GrandStay will send an experienced manager to Sisters for as long as needed.

All GrandStay Hotels are individually owned and operated under a license with GrandStay Hospitality LLC. The Sisters hotel will be their first venture west of the Mississippi River.