It’s been years in the making, and today, in Clearwater, the first large-scale hotel has opened in the community.

AJ Bachhal and his wife Cass own the Best Western Plus, and have spent about $10 million to build the hotel.

Bachhal says he was thrilled to be given an occupancy permit this week. “When I found out we had gotten the occupancy, it was very overwhelming. There were definitely some tears.”

The hotel has 69 guest rooms, a breakfast area, a meeting room and a pool and hot tub. It’s right next to the Clearwater Lodge, a property the Bacchal family also owns.

“We’ve been in Clearwater now since May of 2012, and building a second property was always on the horizon. We didn’t expect it to become quite as big as it did, and starting constructions during a pandemic was not easy,” Bachhal says.

“We actually broke ground in 2019, and the plan was to be built and operational in approximately 18 months, but it turned into approximately two-and-a-half years… But we managed to get through it. We’re many months behind schedule, but it is what it is and we’re very happy today.”

Bachhal says supply delays were the biggest reason for the hold-up, an issue that has affected public and private contractors far and wide during the pandemic.

He says building the hotel was a “no-brainer,” as they already owned the land, and he says the motivation was easy with Clearwater continuing to grow and a large market for tourists – particularly from Europe.

“Spring and summer are definitely our very busy months here. But we’ve got the (Trans Mountain) pipeline going through as well right now, so it’s actually a fantastic time for us to be opening our doors. So we’re going to have a pretty good winter and summer.”

The Best Western hotel has added 15 jobs to the community, Bachhal says.

And the family isn’t slowing down on its hotel ventures. Bachhal says renovations are about to begin on the Clearwater Lodge, and says it will be rebranded into a Quality Inn, either late this year or early in 2022.