'Very good opportunity': 172-room hotel finally opens in Nanaimo
A long awaited hotel in downtown Nanaimo has finally opened.
After a soft opening in March, the Courtyard by Mariott hotel has officially opened its doors in the Harbour City.
"Opening a hotel in the spring time on Vancouver Island is the time you want to be doing it," said Ryan McRae, senior vice president for business development for hotel firm Hotel Equities.
The 172-room hotel is posed for success, according to Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog, and in the middle of that expected long term success is the Snuneymuxw First Nation.
The nation played a key role in getting the nearly two-decade project to fruition.
The hotel sits on the traditional territory of the Snuneymuxw First Nation, and its location has a lot of historical significance.
"It's one of our main village sites where a lot of our people lived over time," said Snuneymuxw Chief Mike Wyse.
Several Snuneymuxw members also work at the hotel, including in management roles.
"Snuneymuxw First Nation are a key partner for us on this," said McRae. "They actually have a significant ownership interest in the asset."
Local First Nation art can also be seen throughout the hotel.
An opening ceremony for the Courtyard by Mariott hotel in Nanaimo is shown. June 1, 2023. (CTV News)"It’s a very good opportunity for our people, our community, that gave us the greenlight to move forward," said Wyse.
"We really wanted to create a sense of place [that's] local here to the Snuneymuxw territory and the City of Nanaimo," added McRae.
In April, construction of a new foot passenger ferry terminal for service between Nanaimo and Vancouver began as well.
The Snuneymuxw First Nation is a partner in that long awaited venture too.
It's a project that's taken just as long as the hotel to develop.
"We are so connected to this land and being a part of the progress moving forward is such a big uplifting for our community," said Wyse.
The Courtyard by Mariott is also expected to attract larger events to the Vancouver Island Conference Centre across the street, which will boost the local economy and help revitalize the downtown core.
Just don't expect to get a room in the next few days.
"We are actually fully sold out," said McRae. "One hundred per cent occupied."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.