Best Western Plus West Lawrence — Photo by BWH Hotels

The Best Western Plus West Lawrence opened in Lawrence, Kan., as the first property developed at Lawrence's mixed-use site The Mercato. The 112-room hotel offers upgraded guest amenities, a full-service lobby bar with big-screen TVs and an indoor saltwater pool, a fitness center, a grilling patio and fire pits located in an outdoor courtyard. The hotel also offers 840 square feet of meeting space that can be divided if required, complete with full audiovisual equipment.

Developed by Wichita, Kan.-based Steve Martens, CEO of The Martens Companies and his hotel development subsidiary, Hospitality Development of America, the $14.5-million property employs 30 people. Judy Riling is the hotel's GM, and Kevin Brady is assistant GM. Martens will manage the hotel through another of his subsidiaries, Hospitality Management.

This is Martens' fourth Best Western-branded property, and his fifth hotel overall in Kansas and Oklahoma.

The hotel is pet-friendly and offers an electric car-charging station.

Wichita-based Conco Construction was the general contractor for the hotel. Architectural design was provided by Lance Adams, of Lawrence-based Adams Architecture, and Wichita's Spangenberg Phillips Tice Architecture. Landplan Engineering of Lawrence handled site and engineering design.

Hotel website