Since late July, nine new hotels from Choice Hotels International, Marriott International and Hilton have opened in the South. These new properties include five hotels in Texas and one each in Louisiana, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Choice
The 226-room Cambria Hotel Houston Downtown Convention Center opened last week, marking the brand’s first location in the city and its fifth in Texas. The 21-story hotel is an adaptive reuse of the more than 90-year-old Great Southwest Building. It is a short walk from the George R. Brown Convention Center and Minute Maid Park and near major corporations like Chevron Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and United Airlines. It features a bar and lounge, a fitness room and meeting space.
The 122-room WoodSpring Suites Dallas Plano Central Legacy Drive opened in Plano, Texas, roughly half an hour north of Dallas. It is located near major corporations like Frontier Communications, Peleton, State Farm Insurance, PepsiCo, Toyota Motor North America, Boeing and Liberty Mutual. It features a 24-hour fitness center and a guest laundry room. Four VP GP Houston developed and owns the extended-stay property. The company currently owns 22 WoodSpring Suites hotels, with several more in the pipeline. Gulf Coast Hotel Management operates the hotel.
The 123-room WoodSpring Suites San Antonio Lackland also opened in Texas late last month. It is located near Valero Energy’s headquarters and the University of Texas at San Antonio and within a short drive of Sea World, Ingram Park Mall and Gateway Hills Golf Course. Like the other Texas WoodSpring Suites, it offers a fitness center and a guest laundry room. New Era owns the hotel and Premier Property Management operates it.
Marriott
SpringHill Suites by Marriott Charlotte Southwest will open in North Carolina on Aug. 7. It is located at the Whitehall Corporate Center, 8 miles from Charlotte Douglas International Airport and 10 minutes from downtown Charlotte. It features 124 suites, guest laundry facilities, an outdoor swimming pool, a fitness center and 430 square feet of meeting space. Whitehall Hotel owns the hotel and ShoreRock Group manages it.
A dual-branded AC Hotel and Residence Inn property opened in Frisco, Texas, in August. The hotels, both owned and managed by NewcrestImage of Lewisville, Texas, share some amenities, including an indoor swimming pool, a fitness center and 3,068 square feet of meeting space. Each hotel features 150 rooms and its own lobby, lounge, dining area and business center. The hotel is within walking distance of the Dallas Cowboys’ headquarters and near the Texas Sculpture Garden at Hall Park, the National Videogame Museum and Toyota Stadium.
The 138-room Courtyard by Marriott Charleston-North Charleston opened in South Carolina this month. The four-story hotel features a restaurant, an outdoor swimming pool, a fitness center, guest laundry facilities and 1,184 square feet of meeting space. Solara Hospitality of Columbia, S.C., owns and manages the hotel.
Another Courtyard by Marriott hotel opened in Lafayette, La., on July 26. The 94-room Courtyard by Marriott Lafayette South, owned and managed by Sunrise Hospitality of Shreveport, La., features a restaurant, an outdoor swimming pool, a fitness center, guest laundry facilities and 921 square feet of meeting space.
Hilton
Marietta Hotel Investments opened the Home2 Suites by Hilton Atlanta Marietta last week following an adaptive-reuse renovation. The hotel features 1,400 square feet of meeting and event space, a saline pool and a combined laundry and fitness area. It is less than a 5-mile drive from SunTrust Park, home of the Atlanta Braves, and 30 minutes from the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and downtown Atlanta. The property’s operator, Hotel Equities, now owns and/or manages six Home2 Suites hotels.