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Transcendental Renovation
BC-ID--Transcendental Renovation,750
New Owners of Boise's Idanha Hotel Hope To Help You Lose Your
Baggage
INTERMOUNTAIN FEATURE EXCHANGE
dg11
By BETSY Z. RUSSELL
Spokesman-Review
BOISE, Idaho (AP) - The gentle strains of sitar music
hummed through the second floor of Boise's venerable
Idanha Hotel.
The music, played in a newly remodeled conference room
that once was two old "sink rooms" without baths, came
courtesy of the hotel's new owners, the Maharishi Vedic
University. The historic Idanha is the new headquarters
for the university, an arm of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's
organization that touts transcendental meditation.
The university is "a non-profit education corporation"
whose parent company is based in New Jersey, said
director Sara Sevier.
Idaho corporation filings confirm that the non-profit
company incorporated here in 1994 with a nine-member
board of directors, half of whom share the same Asbury
Park, N.J., address.
Sevier, a calm woman with clear blue eyes, previously
worked as a massage therapist in Ketchum, Idaho.
The maharishi's organization is planning to establish
such universities in every state, and has started up in
about 38, Sevier said. Their purpose? "To enliven the
national consciousness, to bring perfect health and
peace to the entire nation. To create a wave of
harmony."
Little change is apparent at the Idanha so far. And it
will continue to operate as a hotel, Sevier said.
The turreted structure, which was Idaho's first
six-story building when it opened in 1901, has suffered
some neglect over the years. Sevier said her
organization plans to restore it to its former grace.
Only 45 of the hotel's 102 rooms were in use when the
new owners arrived in May, she said. They've already
restored three of the unused rooms for the university's
use, and plan to continue that effort.
There's also a $1 million plan to renovate all the
rooms. Old "sink rooms" will be combined with regular
rooms to form two-room "executive suites," Sevier said.
And, "To cater to the health-conscious traveler, we want
natural fibers and fabrics."
Water and air filtration systems also are in the plans.
And the newly outfitted guest rooms would be stocked
with sample sizes of the Maharishi Ayur-Ved health care
products the organization produces.
Plans also call for better sound insulation for the
Idanha's windows, which overlook the busy downtown
cruising strip.
Sevier said the plans still are being finalized, but she
anticipates no problems with financing.
"We have some private investors," she said, and also
probably will seek business or historic-renovation
loans.
In addition to classes in Transcendental Meditation and
soothing Gandarva Veda music, the hotel-based university
plans to establish a clinic for natural and preventive
health care.
Sevier said people who take classes may stay at the
hotel, but the hotel will stay open to the public. The
new owners have kept on the entire previous staff.
"They're very peaceful, very gracious people," said Drue
Dana, who has worked as a front desk clerk at the Idanha
for three years. "We're looking forward to the
renovation and bringing it up to par."
Sevier and three other organization employees live in
the hotel, as does the hotel's general manager, who's
been there 17 years. Sevier said the three others are
working on plans to do consulting work at area
businesses, to promote employees' well-being.
Last Monday, the university sponsored a concert at the
city's best recital hall by a prominent sitar player and
music professor from India, Devabrata Chaudhuri. A brief
pre-concert at the hotel's new second-floor conference
room that morning drew TV cameras.
The Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, whose portrait was displayed
on a table for the pre-concert, still directs the
organization from his home in Holland, Sevier said.
"He's the CEO."
In the Idanha's lobby, the old brass, heavy woodwork and
chandeliers haven't changed. Peter Schott's restaurant
still offers its renowned "new American cuisine."
About the only sign of the new owners is inside a carved
wooden case with leaded-glass doors by the desk, where
next to the toothbrushes for guests who've forgotten
theirs are Maharishi Ayur-Ved hair products, vitamins,
gourmet seasonings and teas.
Patrick O'Keefe, an 89-year-old Irish immigrant who has
lived in the Idanha for 22 years, said he hasn't minded
the change at all.
"They seem to be pretty nice people as far as I know,"
he said. "They have treated me fine."
--
opinions are mine only.
The known is finite, the unknown infinite; intellectually we stand on
an islet in the midst of an illimitable ocean of inexplicability. Our
business in every generation is to reclaim a little more land.
-- Thomas H. Huxley
