Dan Huber, owner and CEO of Frontier Hospitality Group, gives a speech during the grand opening ceremony Tuesday, April 1, for the new SpringHill Suites by Marriott in Bettendorf. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
The new $17 million SpringHill Suites by Marriott in northern Bettendorf appears to have something for everybody. It has 86 rooms, each a suite with separate areas to sleep, work and relax. It has a fitness room and swimming pool. It even offers a free breakfast for its guests. But most importantly, it helps showcase […]
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The new $17 million SpringHill Suites by Marriott in northern Bettendorf appears to have something for everybody.It has 86 rooms, each a suite with separate areas to sleep, work and relax. It has a fitness room and swimming pool. It even offers a free breakfast for its guests. But most importantly, it helps showcase the Quad Cities, according to local business leaders.
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Kyle Carter, executive director of the Downtown Davenport Partnership, talks with Deanna Jensen-Valliere of the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce during SpringHill Suites by Marriott’s grand opening ceremony Tuesday, April 1, in Bettendorf. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
A ribbon-cutting ceremony is held Tuesday, April 1, for the new SpringHill Suites by Marriott in north Bettendorf. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
The new SpringHill Suites by Marriott is located at 5235 Competition Drive near the TBK Bank Sports Complex and Iron Tee Golf in the rapidly growing Plex area of Bettendorf. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
Bettendorf City Administrator Decker Ploehn talks with guests at the grand opening ceremony Tuesday, April 1, for the new SpringHill Suites by Marriott in Bettendorf. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
Guests visit the new SpringHill Suites by Marriott in north Bettendorf. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
This is one of the rooms in the new SpringHill Suites by Marriott in north Bettendorf. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
This is one of the rooms in the new SpringHill Suites by Marriott in north Bettendorf. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
This is the fitness center in the new SpringHill Suites by Marriott in north Bettendorf. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
The new SpringHill Suites by Marriott is located at 5235 Competition Drive near the TBK Bank Sports Complex and Iron Tee Golf in the rapidly growing Plex area of Bettendorf. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
“People are looking for places that are dynamic. … This is the exciting kind of development to showcase the Quad Cities,” Peter Tokar III, CEO of the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce, said during SpringHill Suites’ grand opening ceremony on Tuesday, April 1.He added that the new hotel is a project that will “drive new development” in the Quad Cities.The grand opening festivities, which attracted more than 100 people from the business community, included a Quad Cities Chamber ribbon-cutting ceremony, tours of the hotel, and plenty of snacks and speeches to help welcome SpringHill Suites to Bettendorf. The hotel, which opened for business Friday, March 7, is located at 5235 Competition Drive, near the TBK Bank Sports Complex and Iron Tee Golf in the vastly growing Plex area of Bettendorf.Since its opening, SpringHill Suites has been attracting many guests, especially those who travel to the Quad Cities for sporting events in the Plex area. So far, the hotel has been full or near full almost every weekend with youth league teams (along with parents and friends) participating in sporting events at the two nearby sports complexes, according to Michelle Curtis, general manager at the SpringHill Suites.“They are loving the layout of the rooms. … and the free breakfast is also a big hit with them,” she added.Alex Hayunga, director of sales for Marriott International, said the hotel is off to a fast start with the help of indoor baseball tournaments held at the nearby sports venues. “People are super excited to have another option when they go to the tournaments,” he added.Mr. Hayunga was among those who led groups of people on the hotel tours Tuesday as part of the grand opening. Visitors got to look over the fitness room as well as tour the guest rooms 105 and 106. One room featured a king-sized bed; the other room had two smaller beds. Each also offered a daybed and more.Another feature on the tour was a first floor meeting room called The Hamilton Room. That room is named in honor of Jodi Hamilton, who unexpectedly died on Saturday, Feb. 8. Ms. Hamilton was director of hotel development for Frontier Hospitality Group (FHG), the owner of the SpringHill Suites.A sign outside The Hamilton Room states: “Jodi’s compassion, intelligence, humor, and unwavering commitment to making things happen left a profound imprint on our company. She had a remarkable ability to connect with people, making them feel valued and important.”During the ceremonies, Dan Huber, FHG’s owner and CEO, praised Ms. Hamilton for her work on the hotel and many other projects for Frontier during her 22 years with the company. He called her “our MVP.”“She was one of our absolute favorite people. Jodi always kept things light. … She would be so proud of the team,” said Mr. Huber, adding that he and Ms. Hamilton got to tour the hotel and see some of its features a few weeks before it opened.“The execution of this project has been perfect. … All the rooms here are beautiful,” he said.Some of the hotel’s features and facts include:
The four-story hotel has 86 rooms and spans 58,640 feet.
Amenities include a free breakfast, indoor swimming pool, fitness room, a meeting room and a 24-hour market. That market was open for business on Tuesday, and offered goodies such as DiGiorno pizzas, Haagen-Daz ice cream and a large variety of cocktail drinks in a can.
Other amenities include: free Wifi, free coffee and tea, laundry service, digital check-in, dry cleaning services and more.
The hotel development project was expected to create more than 100 construction jobs and 24 permanent jobs.
Partners included Davenport-based Russell, IMEG Corp. and Ramaker. This is the ninth project Russell is completing with FHG.
Frontier has invested more than $77 million in Quad Cities hotels in the past decade. It now offers more than 500 hotel rooms, in total, in the region. FHG also was the developer and owner of the Cambria Hotel Quad Cities – the first hotel to be built in the Plex Area.
Mr. Huber also told the grand opening crowd that the new hotel is coming during a special time for Frontier as it celebrates its 75th anniversary this year. FHG was founded in 1950 by I.L. and Virginia Baker in Clinton, Iowa.Frontier will continue building new hotels this year. Mr. Huber said the next project will be a new $13 million Hampton Inn hotel project in East Peoria, Illinois. The groundbreaking for that project is scheduled for next week.After the ceremony, Mr. Huber told the Quad Cities Regional Business Journal that Frontier does not have any additional hotel projects in the works for the Quad Cities area at this time.The new Bettendorf hotel is one of many business projects in the works near the TBK Bank Sports Complex that will bring in out-of-town guests and money to the community, business leaders said. Some of the other projects in that northern Bettendorf business district include: ORA Orthopedics is building a new $50 million, state-of-the-art clinic and outpatient surgery center in the area; the new Bettendorf Family Dental has opened; a new 288-unit apartment home complex known as Authentix Bettendorf is in the works; a new indoor sports facility is now open; a Jersey Mike’s Subs sandwich shop opened a year ago; and the Iron Tee Golf entertainment facility opened for business last spring.“People come out here and see these businesses. … They are thrilled to have another hotel out here for them,” added Mr. Hayunga.
