MCLEAN, Va.—Embassy Suites Hotels and Kemmons Wilson, Inc. broke ground Monday on Embassy Suites Tuscaloosa Downtown, the first property in the area to feature Design Option III, the brand’s latest design concept. The full service, all-suites hotel will be managed by Wilson Hotel Management Company, a division of Kemmons Wilson Companies. Scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of 2014, the hotel will be the first Embassy Suites in Wilson Hotel Management’s portfolio, bringing 154 suites and more than 5,300 square feet of flexible banquet and meeting facilities to the Tuscaloosa area.
While the Tuscaloosa property is the first Embassy Suites hotel for Kemmons Wilson, Inc., the corporation has developed other properties within the Hilton Worldwide portfolio of brands, including Hampton Inn and Suites Orlando-East-Univ. of Central and Hampton Inn and Suites Lake Mary At Colonial Townpark. Present at the groundbreaking were C. Kemmons Wilson, Jr., McLean Wilson, Jim O’Brien and Jon Crisp of Kemmons Wilson, Inc. Also there to commemorate the event were local officials including Harrison Taylor, City Council President, Pro-tem, District 2; Bobby Howard, City Council, District 3; Tim Nunnally, City Attorney; Dr. Robert E. Witt, Chancellor, University of Alabama System; Glenn Goerke, Sr. Director Development, Hilton Worldwide; Susan West, CEO, Tuscaloosa Tourism & Sports Commission; Dr. Kelvin Croom, Pastor, College Hill Bapt. Church.
“We are thrilled to break ground on our very first Embassy Suites hotel,” said C. Kemmons Wilson, Jr., president, Kemmons Wilson, Inc. “We are always impressed by the performance of Hilton Worldwide brands and are looking forward to adding the Embassy Suites brand to our portfolio here in downtown Tuscaloosa and bringing its upscale, family-friendly offering to the community.”
Embassy Suites Tuscaloosa Downtown will be constructed and designed in the brand’s Design Option III style. The flexible design features a variety of side-by-side suites, shotgun suites and one-room suites in addition to an atrium area, decreasing the amount of land needed and creating efficiencies for both construction and operational costs.
“We are pleased to welcome Kemmons Wilson Companies to the Embassy Suites family and to recognize this milestone which brings us one step closer to bringing the brand to the downtown Tuscaloosa area,” said John Rogers, global head, Embassy Suites Hotels. “We look forward to a successful relationship with our partners and showing them the value of our high-performing brand that yields high guest satisfaction and industry praise.”
