Carla Williams/MDNThe pool area at the Best Western Kelly Inn, located at 1510-22nd Ave. SW, has recently been remodeled.
By CARLA WILLIAMS, Staff Writer cwilliams@minotdailynews.com
Sunday, May 06, 2007— Time:8:10:58 PM
Minot’s homes away from home continue to meet visitors’ demands.
According to the Minot Convention and Visitors Bureau, the city’s 16 hotels and motels currently provide 1,615 rooms to guests. Approximately another 54 rooms will be available at the Sleep Inns & Suites, attached to Dakota Square Mall, once expansion is completed.
The following are additional updates on several more hotels and motels in Minot.
Holiday Inn Express/Holiday Inn Riverside
The Holiday Inn Express, located at 300-37th Ave. SW, opened April 30. The hotel houses 66 rooms including 16 suites. All rooms have standard amenities.
The hotel also features a continental breakfast, complimentary high-speed Internet, 32-inch LCD televisions in all rooms, an indoor pool and hot tub, a meeting room, a full business center and much more.
According to Pete Zimmerman, managing partner, one of the reasons to do another Holiday Inn/Intercontinental Hotels Group location in Minot was the increase in Canadian visitors, to have a presence in another part of the community and get closer to U.S. Highway 83 and the bypass for visibility.
Intercontinental Hotels Group umbrellas hotels including Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express.
Zimmerman also said Intercontinental Hotels identified Minot as a market that could handle another product.
“It’s a nice thing they (Intercontinental Hotel) came to the existing branch (Holiday Inn Riverside) and asked us to build another hotel or they would otherwise sell to another franchise or group,” Zimmerman said. “If Intercontinental identified Minot as a growing market, we might as well be the one to have it.”
Zimmerman said a mixture of staff, both existing employees from the Holiday Inn Riverside and new employees, work at the Holiday Inn Express.
According to Zimmerman, who is also the general manager at the Holiday Inn Riverside, with that hotel being an older building, there’s always something to do to improve it. The hotel is located at 2200 E. Burdick Expy.
Currently, the hotel’s public restrooms are being remodeled and the 170 guest rooms are receiving new lighting. The rooms themselves were completely remodeled last summer.
Once the lighting updates are completed, Zimmerman said everything in the rooms will be brand new.
The Vegas Motel
Housing 170 rooms, The Vegas Motel, located at 2315 N. Broadway, is seeking to upgrade its economy and smoking wings.
According to Rita Paige, sales and marketing manager, the motel is currently in the planning stages to renovate the rooms and hopes to start renovation in the next couple weeks.
“These wings have older furnishings and will receive new furnishings including new carpeting and queen-size beds, “Paige said.
Once the rooms are completed, Paige said all rooms at The Vegas will be completely renovated.
In the long term, Paige said the motel will looking at updating public areas.
The Grand International Inn
Located at 1505 N. Broadway, the Grand International Inn is currently putting itself in the middle of the Minot convention market by adding a new ballroom in the former Comedy Connection.
Jim Mello, general manager, said the days of big lounges at hotels are gone. As a result, the Grand International felt it could make better use of facilities with discontinuing the Comedy Connection and adding a 5,200-square- foot ballroom, which will seat approximately 300 people.
Mello said the ballroom should be completed by June 1 and will include a new audio/visual sound system to allow video conferencing and video taping. The ballroom will also allow exhibitors to display work across the hall from another banquet hall they might be using.
The Grand International also revealed its 23 king suites last fall. The suites contain two separate rooms – a living room and a bedroom.
Mello said the king suites feature memory foam king-sized mattresses, 32-inch flat LCD televisions, and hardwire and wireless Internet services.
Mello said down the road, the Grand International will be looking at remodeling its lobby.
“We have wonderful hotel properties in Minot that don’t take a back seat in North Dakota,” Mello said. “We do all of these renovations to stay competitive.”
Best Western Kelly Inn
Built in 1992 and Kelly Inns Limited purchasing it in 1998, The Best Western Kelly Inn, located at 1510-26th Ave. SW, features 100 guest rooms.
According to Lori Olson, general manager, currently 26 percent of the hotel rooms have been renovated in the last couple of years along with the pool area.
Olson said another 24 percent of the rooms will be remodeled this year to include new furnishings, wall vinyl and upgraded bedding packages. The remaining 50 percent of the rooms are set to be remodeled in 2008.
Olson said the hotel will be working on the landscaping behind the hotel and performing some remodeling to the breakfast area. The outside of the building will receive a facelift as well next year.
Comfort Inn
Opening in Minot in 1989 at 1515-22nd Ave. SW, the Comfort Inn provides 140 rooms to guests.
According to Jo Ann Voeller, general manager, the hotel completed renovations for 25 rooms in February. The hotel also plans to renovate 25 more rooms this month and finish renovating 53 more rooms by the end of the year.
Source : http://www.minotdailynews.com/business/articles.asp?articleID=10878
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