Innisfree Hotels is proud to announce two new beachfront developments coming to Panama City Beach, Fla. – one of the state’s most popular vacation destinations. The Hampton Inn & Suites is set to open in Spring 2017 and the Springhill Suites by Marriott is scheduled to open the following Spring of 2018.
Director of Development Rich Chism says Innisfree’s investment in the beachside community will top $100 million, bringing as many as 300 construction jobs over the next two years. Once the hotels open, Innisfree plans to add 100 permanent jobs to the Panama City Beach market – a good sign both for the industry and the local workforce.
The Hampton Inn & Suites and Springhill Suites by Marriott are widely recognized as quality hotels by vacation and business travelers. To attract new visitors to Panama City Beach, Innisfree worked diligently with both brands to create design schemes and amenities unlike any currently offered in the market.
“After opening the new Holiday Inn Resort in Fort Walton Beach two years ago, we realized that there were remarkable similarities in the Panama City Beach market, where there have not been any new major branded hotels constructed directly on the beach in approximately 20 years,” Chism states. “The Marriott and Hampton brands will each provide thousands of reservations for the two new beachfront hotels. With beachfront hotels having never been offered before in either worldwide reservation system, former vacationers of Destin and Fort Walton may come to Panama City Beach for the first time.”
The 182-room Gulf front Hampton Inn & Suites 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 The Back Porch and Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville.
Amenities will include a beachfront pool and hot tub, fitness center, bar and hospitality room, dune walkover to beach, Gulf front breakfast seating, and a boardroom.
Innisfree Hotels owns two other Gulf front Hampton Inns – one in Pensacola Beach, Fla. and the other in Orange Beach, Ala. The company currently manages the Beachside Resort in Panama City Beach, a newly renovated beachfront hotel.
The Springhill Suites marks Innisfree’s first Marriott franchise. Located only three miles from the Hampton Inn & Suites site, the 200-room hotel will offer a lazy river pool, indoor and outdoor bars, garage parking, Gulf front balconies and a dune walkover with direct beach access.
Both hotels are designed by Philip Partington, SMP Architecture while Larry Adams, Bullock Tice Associates, is the architect of record producing construction documents. Interior design is provided by Debbie Adrian. The pool deck and amenities are designed by Chad Watkins, WAS Design with civil engineering by Mark Siner, Choctaw Engineering. The same design team recently won an award for their design of Innisfree’s Holiday Inn Resort in Fort Walton Beach.
“Innisfree has longed for an opportunity to bring such fine products as the Hampton Inn & Suites and Springhill Suites by Marriott 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 across the panhandle.”