WILTON – A Wilton motel’s name has been changed to reflect its lakeside location and changes at the facility since the 1950s.

The former Whispering Pines motel will now be called the Wilson Lake Inn, said owners Susan Atwood and Tom Whalen on Monday.

Starting their fourth year of ownership, the time for the name change seemed to be now, Atwood said.

“I’ve never liked the word motel. It’s dated, and the word inn sounds warmer and more inviting,” she said. The facility on Wilson Lake was originally surrounded by tall pines but now the pines have gone, she said, and the business has changed over the years. The new name better represents the comfortable, homelike character, she added.

“We’re not the standard cookie-cutter type of facility where every room is the same,” she said.

The name change isn’t in response to the town’s new hotel, Comfort Inn, she said. Rather, Atwood said she wanted to change the name when they bought the motel, but her husband, said it had been Whispering Pines since it was built in the 1950s, she said.

The original 10-room building has become more than a motel, she said. There are larger suites that are more like a small apartment. Eleven rooms have a kitchen or kitchenette, she added.

The couple’s plans for renovations continue and compliment the changes made to the building and grounds since they purchased the property, she said.

New signs will be up by the end of the month.