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Sunset Inn & Suites a testament to its founder

For Suzanne Favot, the Sunset Inn & Suites will always be inked to the entrepreneurial spirit of her late father, Dick Davidson.
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The Sunset Inn & Suites is the premier location in Sioux Lookout for meetings and conferences.

For Suzanne Favot, the Sunset Inn & Suites will always be inked to the entrepreneurial spirit of her late father, Dick Davidson.

The general manager of the Sioux Lookout hotel said her father never did anything small and his appetite for growing his businesses was never satiated. He passed away last year but he left a rich legacy among his five children.

“He was an entrepreneur like nobody I've ever known,” said Favot. Located just off Highway 72, the 130-room Sunset Inn & Suites is the premier hotel and meeting spot in Sioux Lookout. “We are full-service,” said Favot. “We can feed you, house you and help train you with our facilities.”

The hotel is the preferred accommodations for Ministry of Natural Resources fire crews, railway track gangs, and patients from outlying communities referred to the local hospital.

The Davidson's settled in Sioux Lookout after Dick left the Royal Canadian Air Force in the late 1970s. The picturesque town was his favourite posting while stationed at the local NORAD radar base.

“When he retired from the armed forces he moved the family here and bought the Sioux Hotel,” now the Centennial Centre, said Favot.

In 1978, her father had just finalized the acquisition of the property when a kitchen fire destroyed the building. Davidson rebuilt and invited local firefighters to the ribboncutting.

He later designed and built the Sunset Inn in 1988, beginning with 60 rooms. Always on top of trends in the hotel industry, the Sunset went through renovations and expansion, including added a third floor, a new restaurant, an indoor water park and the upscale suites hotel.

His business interests spread to comprise two restaurants, including Beaux Daddy's Canajun Bar & Grill in Thunder Bay.

The prime time for meetings at the Sunset is September through November with bookings by First Nation health authorities, mineral prospector groups, regional mayors conferences, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and the Northern Nishnawbe Education Council.

“For us, we serve the North a lot and we're proud to do so,” said Favot. “We have a very solid relationship with many of the communities.”

The inn portion features the naturallylit Sunset Room with capacity for up to 120 people, and Suites 131 and 133 have room for five to 20 people and are usually reserved for private consultations.

Across the parking lot, the Suites Boardroom can handle two to 12 people, ideal for small meetings. The larger and more popular Suites Conference Room has capacity for upwards of 200 people.

Six giant windows line one side of the room which comes with private restrooms, personal bar service, catering and three entries.

“The decor is very casual,” said Favot. “It's an open concept and we can do all the servicing right in the rooms.”

Also in the family's business stable is the Guardian Eagle Resort, a half hour's flight from town on De Lesseps Lake. The upscale lodge has eight luxury cabins on the “full American plan” with jacuzzi, five- tar meals, full guide service and exclusive air charter service from anyway in U.S. Midwest direct to a private airstrip at the resort.

www.sunsetinnscanada.com