Modern Hotel

The property

The Modern Hotel is a re-animated Travelodge located in downtown Boise’s Linen District. City-centered, yet close to whitewater, mountains, and rolling hills. It’s a home-away-from-home for all the weekenders, explorers, and dreamers who value stylish design and ridiculously comfortable beds.

Young at heart – accommodating fellow journeymen without unnecessary or hidden costs.

The neighborhood

Located in the Linen District of downtown Boise, the Modern Hotel features a modern bar that's the buzziest in town. Qwest Arena, a multi-purpose arena and home to the Idaho Steelheads ice hokey team, is an 8 minutes’ walk away. Bogus Basic Ski and Boise North End are nearby. The Modern Hotel is 1.5 mi from Boise State University.

Good to know

A combination of one of the country’s most creative hotel experiences and unique film festivals—you can’t buy tickets; you have to be a guest at the Modern to attend—39 Rooms showcases independent short films from around the world on the hotel’s closed-circuit Channel 39.

The current batch includes a drama about a Chinese-American girl trying to navigate her parents’ deteriorating relationship; a comedy about a girl, a dragon, and her would-be rescuer; an amusing documentary shot aboard an all-inclusive cruise ship; a drama about an elderly man who becomes infatuated with an immigrant care-taker he has hired to take care of his ailing wife; a musical tale of witches, persecution, and revenge; and more. The films come from Sweden, New Zealand, Mexico, Poland, Austria and the U.S.A.—with themes universal and unique, familiar and fantastical.

Each film is less than 30 minutes long, for a total running time of 2 hours and 11 minutes. Guests can dip in and watch a few here and there during downtime, or watch the whole festival on a night in, propped up on one of the Modern’s notoriously comfortable mattresses. The films are carefully curated by knowledgeable film experts, and well worth a look.

The story

The Modern Hotel originated during the height of the Great Depression in Nampa, Idaho. Two sheepherders, Regina Echevarria, and her husband, had lost all of their sheep, so they went all-in and opened a Basque boarding house that catered to Basque immigrants, sheepherders, traveling musicians and businessmen.

Time passed, and 60 years later Elizabeth Tullis, Regina’s granddaughter, bought a run-down Guest Lodge in Boise and named it after the original Modern. Elizabeth and her family, commissioned local architect Dwaine Carver and interior designer Kerry Tullis to do a complete renovation with all the modern amenities.

At today’s Modern Hotel and Bar, the rich history still radiates amidst Boise’s unique, vibrant culture. The Modern’s bar has classic and original crafted cocktails, a talented chef, music and a courtyard for warm summer nights under a sea of stars. The space also features 39 intelligently designed rooms with high-tech finishes, making traveling easy and low-stress.

The people behind the property

When owner, Elizabeth Tullis decided to build the Modern Boise, she had been working at the Redfish Lodge for many years. she was part of the family that owned the Redfish Lodge. When they sold that, she decided she wanted to have a property in Boise. Elizabeth found the mid-century modern place and called it the Modern Hotel after her grandparent’s boarding house. That was the inspiration.