B&B;, Montana Style Deborgia Hideaway Filled With History, Comfort And Character
We must have driven past it a dozen times on our way through western Montana.
“I’d like to know more about that place,” I said with predictable monotony, every time.
The Hotel Albert is easily visible from Interstate 90, about 18 miles past Lookout Pass on the Montana side. It looks like something out of a western movie set, with its false front, its elk antlers and its wooden-railed upper porch. I half-expected to see Miss Kitty leaning over the railing.
Yet it sits practically by itself in DeBorgia, Mont., which might more accurately be called a freeway exit than a town.
A few weeks ago, my family and I decided to satisfy our curiosity by booking a night at the Hotel Albert. Here’s what we found out:
It was built in 1911 and has been lovingly restored over the past several years.
It is now a four-room bed and breakfast.
It has a fascinating history.
And it is a delightful rural Montana getaway, within easy striking distance of Spokane (110 miles, or two hours) and Coeur d’Alene.
It has everything you should expect in any good bed and breakfast: antique decor, friendly conversation and an elegant breakfast.
Yet what sets the Hotel Albert apart is its origins. Most bed and breakfasts are in old restored houses. This building was actually built as a small hotel, which means it has a cozy lobby/living room with a reception desk right inside the front door. Upstairs, it has four rooms and two large common bathrooms. We booked two rooms - one for the adults and one for our two kids (all of the rooms are doubles, but you can fit in a third person with a rollaway).
The place oozes character. Owner Pam Motta, who runs the place single-handedly and lives in the former saloon portion of the building, told me over lemonade that it was built in 1911, right after the big 1910 fire leveled most of the town of DeBorgia.
Edward Albert, who owned a little sawmill just up the creek, saw an opportunity. He took some of his own lumber and built the hotel to serve the rail passengers who came through town on both the Northern Pacific and Milwaukee railroads.
Emma Albert, his wife, ran the hotel while Edward presided over the saloon. It remained a hotel until sometime around mid-century, when Mr. Albert died. Mrs. Albert then used it as her residence until her death in the ‘60s.
Then it was boarded up and left vacant until 1978, when a succession of entrepreneurs came in to restore it.
“Several people poured their hearts and money into it,” said Motta. “Until they ran out of one or another.”
By the time Motta purchased it two years ago, it was practically fully restored.
Mr. Albert’s lumber is now varnished a rich honey-brown, and the plumbing and wiring have been brought up to date. Motta has done an outstanding job of decorating it with antiques and other treasures.
The floorboards in the living room still show evidence of old corked logging boots; an old wall clock tells the time; and a painting of a grizzly bear looks down from above. A big wood stove dominates the room, providing ample heat for the entire building, even in the harshest Montana high-country winters.
I can’t think of a more relaxing place to sit down with a good book, summer or winter.
If that’s not your style, the living room also has a satellite TV, a stereo, a VCR and a collection of games and puzzles.
As for outside entertainment, well, you’re in rural Montana, folks. The great outdoors is the entertainment. We spent our weekend hiking and fishing on the St. Regis River, which is right across the freeway, and exploring the alpine lakes on the Bitterroot crest, which looms to the northwest. Mountain biking is also popular and will become more so when the St. Paul (Taft) Tunnel route opens nearby.
In the winter, the area is popular with snowmobilers, cross-country skiers and downhill skiers at Lookout Pass.
Motta makes a great breakfast - we had crepes with huckleberry jam, sausage, ham, fresh fruit and banana-nut muffins. For lunch and dinner there are few choices nearby, but we tried the Pinecrest Lodge and Grill, practically next door. We can vouch for its burgers, its fish and chips and its welcoming atmosphere.
Motta said that in winter a number of snow-spooked travelers on I-90 drop in to the Hotel Albert. Also, she said one couple books a room every fall. While the husband goes off to hunt, the wife spends a peaceful day by the wood stove.
Since DeBorgia is near some of my favorite fishing streams, my wife and I might do that someday, too. I’ll fish, she’ll read and we’ll have a cozy historic room to stay in that night. That’s living, Montana style.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo
MEMO: To reach the Hotel Albert, take Exit 18 on Interstate 90 at DeBorgia, Mont. Summer rates are $50 single, $58 double; rates are lower in winter. Group rates available. Call (800) 678-4303 for reservations.