Image Hospitality Will Develop and Operate Second Hampton
WACO, TX, March 26, 2007. Hilton Hotels Corporation will bring one of its best known hotel brands to South Waco with the development of a Hampton Inn & Suites(R) at the Central Texas Marketplace, the outdoor mall and regional power center on I-35 at the intersection of Loop 340 (State Highway 6) in Waco's fastest-growing business district. Ground breaking and site preparation is scheduled to begin on March 26, 2007 at the hotel's three-acre development tract.
The four-story, 124-room hotel development will enjoy outstanding visibility at its high traffic interstate location, while affording guests easy access to the hotel from any highway direction, with the added convenience of restaurants, shopping and major corporate facilities in very close proximity. With considerable retail, manufacturing, medical and residential developments on-going within a one-mile radius of the hotel site, the neighborhood has justifiably earned recognition as Waco's fastest-growing commercial district.
The new development is Hilton Hotels Corporation's second Hampton Inn project in the Waco area. Image Hospitality, LLC, a Florida-based hotel development and management firm, will develop and operate the new Hampton Inn & Suites(R) in South Waco under a franchise agreement awarded to the company. Image Hospitality is a familiar player in the Waco lodging market, having operated the area's first Hampton Inn(R) since it opened for business in North Waco in 1997. Moreover, Image Hospitality has been acknowledged by its franchise partner in three separate years (1999, 2001 and 2003) as a repeat winner of the Circle of Excellence Award, Hilton's most coveted hospitality honor, in recognition of the franchisee's flawless hotel operations and consistently outstanding guest satisfaction ratings.
"We are very pleased that Hilton Hotels Corporation selected our company to expand its celebrated Hampton Inn brand in Waco," said Yogi Patel, Vice-President of Image Hospitality. "And we are very excited to be playing such a vital role in Hampton Inn's expansion plans for the Waco area. We look forward to serving a second area in this rapidly-growing market."
The new hotel at Central Texas Marketplace will be situated directly behind two of the outdoor mall's anchor stores, Old Navy and Marshall's, on a corner out-parcel. The Marketplace Drive site positions the hotel on the major roadway that runs through the shopping center linking Bagby Avenue to the west with the I-35 frontage road on the east.
The new Hampton will comprise four stories and 124 rooms in 80,000 square feet of lodging space, with 1,400 square feet of event space in two meeting rooms and an executive board room. The public areas of the hotel include a two-story, sun-lit Breakfast Area where guests can enjoy a complimentary On-The-House Hot Breakfast(R) buffet served daily. The new hotel will also feature a heated indoor pool and whirlpool spa, a fitness center, a business center, and the Suite Shop(R) Convenience Store offering snacks, beverages, refreshments and sundries.
With both traditional guest rooms and oversized studio suites, the Hampton Inn & Suites(R) will have the flexibility to serve both business and leisure guests on a variety of travel occasions. The guest rooms offer amenities that Hampton consumers have pointed out as being most important for their comfort and productivity: extra-soft quilted mattresses, triple-sheeted bedding, more pillows, larger showers, high-speed Internet access, and "At-Home" kitchen facilities (wet bar/sink, mini-fridge, microwave and sleeper sofa).




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