New proposal for hotel in parking lot of Kelowna Ramada

Photo: Meiklejohn Architects

2022 proposal for six-storey hotel never got off the ground

A new hotel that would potentially service Kelowna's shrinking "short-term rental" market is being proposed.

According to the city's development website, a new development application has been filed for a hotel on a portion of what is now the parking lot of the Ramada Hotel.

While only a preliminary layout of the site is available, a description of the application indicates Aspen Lands Advisory Ltd wishes a subdivision to create a separate property in order to construct a new Marriott Towne Suites.

The new hotel would be to the west of the existing Ramada.

"The 'hotel' will be designed with compact suites tailored to accommodate the demand for short-term rentals in Kelowna," the city wrote in its brief description of the proposal.

The proposal was forwarded as the province clarified exemptions to its short-term rental legislation around strata hotels and motels.

Stratified properties would require a fully staffed front desk, housekeeping services and a web platform providing service exclusively for the use of owners offering short-term rentals at the property.

Third proposal

This is the third proposal brought forward for a hotel in the Ramada parking lot over the past five years.

In 2019, the hotel was granted a development permit to construct a12-storey, mass timber addition on what is presently the parking lot on the west portion of the property.

Two years ago, a new proposal for a six-storey, 160-room hotel was proposed.

That proposal never made it to city council.