The access gate at the Hotel Eldorado appears in this September 2023 photo.

(ROB MUNRO / iNFOnews.ca)

A Kelowna hotel embroiled in a long-running legal saga with the city over public access to its boardwalk has lost its latest legal challenge.

A panel of three justices at the BC Court of Appeal dismissed Hotel Eldorado's claim that the lower court had interpreted the right of way incorrectly.

The BC Court of Appeal's move means that the public will continue to have access to the boardwalk.

Access to the boardwalk has become a bone of contention to the City of Kelowna in recent years since the hotel's owners closed the right-on-way in the spring of 2020.

Since then the two sides have been back and forth in court fighting over access, an issue made more complex by COVID-19 public health restrictions which applied to the hotel’s outdoor dining.

The Dec. 18 BC Court of Appeal decision said the issue with the boardwalk dates back to 1999 when the previous owner paid $31,000 for 0.1 acres of land from the Crown.

But sale of the land came with conditions.

"This offer is subject to you surveying a right of way/easement through the fill for the purpose of establishing a public walkway in favour of the City of Kelowna," the decision read.

READ MORE: Here’s the part of Kelowna's Hotel Eldorado story you may not know

A statutory right of way was set up immediately adjacent to Okanagan Lake for public access.

Everything seemed to go OK for 20 years, but then in 2020 the hotel, under new ownership closed off access.

The City of Kelowna took the hotel to court, and a back and forth legal battle started.

In July 2022, a BC justice ruled in favour of the City of Kelowna allowing access over the land.

The recent Court of Appeal decision argued the justice in July 2022 had misinterpreted the wording in the right of way.

However, the higher court quashed the appeal, leaving the public with access.

Read more stories about Hotel Eldorardo here.

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