Innisfree Hotels is proud to announce a new beachfront hotel development coming to Panama City Beach, Fla., one of the state’s most popular vacation destinations. Innisfree has broken ground on a brand new Gulf Front Hampton Inn & Suites, transforming the quality of local hotel offerings. The property will open in the Spring of 2017.


The beautiful 182-room Gulf front hotel will be located within walking distance of Pier Park, a 900,000 sq. ft. shopping, dining and entertainment complex that is home to major retailers such as Dillard’s, Sunglass Hut and Ron Jon Surf Shop, as well as favorite restaurants and bars including Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge and Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville.


The Hampton Inn & Suites, Panama City Beach will feature:



  •       Beachfront Pool and Hot Tub

  •       Fitness Center

  •       Bar and Hospitality Room

  •       Dune Walkover to Beach

  •       Gulf-Front Breakfast Seating and Boardroom


The hotel site was selected due to its walking proximity to Pier Park. The Hampton Inn & Suites flag was selected because it is a guest favorite – providing great quality and value, exactly what most guests are looking for in a vacation hotel.


Innisfree Hotels owns two other Gulf-front hotels carrying a Hampton brand flag  – one in Pensacola Beach, Fla. and the other in Orange Beach, Ala.


“Innisfree has longed for an opportunity to bring a fine product like the Hampton Inn & Suites to the Panama City Beach market,” says Julian MacQueen, founder and CEO of Innisfree Hotels. “We are thrilled the day has arrived, allowing us to spread our culture and guest services even further along Gulf Coast beaches.”  


Innisfree currently owns and manages the Beachside Resort in Panama City Beach, a newly renovated beachfront hotel.


The latest Hampton Inn & Suites project is a joint venture between Innisfree Hotels and Stonehill Capital, two companies with substantial hospitality experience.


Stonehill Strategic Capital (“SSC”), a direct hospitality lender, is actively providing permanent loans, bridge loans, mezzanine loans and preferred equity investments secured by hotel assets. Founded in 2013, SSC provides creative finance solutions for acquisitions, recapitalizations, refinancings and renovations. The principals of SSC have combined to originate and structure over $2.5 billion of hospitality debt, and since closing their fund in Q3 2014, SSC has completed an excess of 30 transactions totaling over $325 million.


“We are extremely excited to be working with Stonehill Strategic Capital on this project and thrilled to bring another Gulf-front Hampton Inn & Suites to the Gulf Coast,” says Innisfree Director of Development Rich Chism. “We are able to bring a custom design to the exterior and interior of the hotel – this will not be a typical Hampton Inn. Adults and kids alike will love the hotel.”


The accomplished design and construction team includes:



  •       Design Architect Philip Partington of SMP Architecture

  •       Architect of Record Larry Adams of BTA Architects

  •       Interior Designer Adrian Caradine Contract Design

  •       Landscape and Pool Architect WAS Design

  •       Civil Engineer Choctaw Engineering

  •       General Contractor Robins & Morton


“This project, in many ways, represents a homecoming of sorts for me,” says Mike Nixon, President of Innisfree Hotels. “I’m happy to bring new construction to my hometown.” Mr. Nixon began his career in the hospitality business by working in and later managing Panama City Beach hotels in the early 1990s.