Council Inn Opens
403 N Dartmouth (Highway 95) in Council has been used for several purposes over the years. It has been a church, a real estate office, a duplex and is now a brand new motel named Council Inn owned by Cheyenne and Shalen Bennion.
I was able to visit with Cheyenne recently as she showed me around the recently opened inn. She spoke with a lot of pride in the completed project. One of the first things she shared was the story of how they caught the vision of what the building could become. She and her husband were sitting on the floor of the old sanctuary of the church with a piece of paper and drew up a plan right then of what it could become. They then decided to go ahead with the purchase of the old building. Details of the plan changed as the project progressed of course, but eventually their vision of the Council Inn came to life.
It was a team and family effort according to Cheyenne. Her and Shalen spent nights and weekends on the project. They even spent some evenings stripping and sorting recyclable metal that was pulled out of the building before they brought it down to scrap recyclers. They would bet between themselves to see what the total would be. Often, this was just enough to pay for a dinner out on their trips down below. She said they spent hours and hours on this project but made great memories while doing it.
Cheyenne was also proud to point out that local contractors were used. Shalen is a general contractor and owns Weiser River Customs and he was able to manage the sub-contractors. Spring Creek Hardwoods provided the cabinetry and Jensen Electric did the electrical work. Olvera Plumbing out of Weiser took care of the plumbing.
During demolition and construction they found scriptures written on wall studs from when the church was being built or possibly remodeled. They were able to save and preserve many of these and they are still in the building.
The Council Inn has seven rooms including one room that is ADA accessible and one room that is a master suite. The rooms have new furniture and decor making a pleasant experience. It also has digital locks and security cameras as well as a live-in on-site manager to keep things running smooth.
Their first guest was unplanned but welcome. According to Cheyenne they weren’t ready to open yet, however the building was finished. They even had the ‘No Vacancy’ sign out by the highway. A tired traveler with a baby had pulled into the parking lot and called despite the sign, but also because the parking lot was empty. Cheyenne and her staff ended up providing them a room for the night. They realized that they had done it once, so why not open for good?
Cheyenne is excited to bring short term lodging back to Council. She hopes that the Council Inn will complement other businesses in town as guests spend more time and money in the area. Local businesses are welcome to drop off fliers for guest rooms.
The Council Inn can be reached at (208) 253-4639 or www.councilinn.com.
