Dan Huber, center, CEO and co-owner of the Frontier Hospitality Group, talks with guests Tuesday night, Dec. 12, during the grand opening for the Courtyard by Marriott Bettendorf hotel. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
Dan Huber looked over the new Courtyard by Marriott Bettendorf hotel on Tuesday night, Dec. 12, and loved what he saw. “This is a home run. … I had dinner here last night and I had guest after guest tell me this is the best Courtyard they have ever stayed at,” said Mr. Huber, the […]
Dan Huber looked over the new Courtyard by Marriott Bettendorf hotel on Tuesday night, Dec. 12, and loved what he saw.“This is a home run. … I had dinner here last night and I had guest after guest tell me this is the best Courtyard they have ever stayed at,” said Mr. Huber, the CEO and co-owner of the Frontier Hospitality Group, which owns the new hotel at 907 Utica Ridge Place, Bettendorf.
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A ribbon-cutting ceremony is held Tuesday, Dec. 12, for the new Courtyard by Marriott Bettendorf hotel. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
The new Courtyard by Marriott Bettendorf hotel boasts 113 guest rooms. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
This is one of the rooms in the new Courtyard by Marriott Bettendorf hotel. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
Dan Huber, the CEO and co-owner of the Frontier Hospitality Group, which owns the new hotel, welcomes people to the new hotel.
This is the swimming pool in the hotel.
This is the fitness center in the new hotel.
Dave Herrell, president and CEO of Visit Quad Cities, welcomes people to the new hotel.
Mr. Huber and about 100 other guests and business leaders helped welcome the new $22 million FHG hotel during a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday night. The business community had a chance to tour some of the 113 guest rooms in the hotel, see its amenities such as an indoor swimming pool and fitness center, and sample food from the hotel’s Bistro restaurant. They also liked what they saw.For instance, Dave Herrell, president and CEO of Visit Quad Cities, said the new hotel is another great feature that will bring people to the Quad Cities. During the opening ceremonies for the hotel, he noted that while speeches were being made several visitors were already at the front desk, checking into the hotel.“That first impression – when somebody walks through the front door – is so important for the Quad Cities,” Mr. Herrell said, adding that more than 9,000 people in the region work in the tourism and hospitality areas in the QC area.Other people on hand Tuesday noted that in an era still hampered by supply chain issues and worker shortages, the new hotel project was completed on budget and ahead of schedule. (A ground-breaking ceremony for the project was held Oct. 18, 2022, in the lobby of the Home2 Suites, which is next door to the new Courtyard by Marriott Bettendorf and also owned by FHG.)The two hotels are located on the site of the former Jumer’s Castle Lodge, known in its last years as The Lodge. The hotel property was demolished in 2016.During Tuesday’s ceremony, Caitlin Russell, president of Russell, which is a partner in the new hotel project, noted that the former Jumer’s site was purchased for the new development in 2015. Building the two new hotels there has been “an eight-year adventure” for the companies and community, she said.“We just put it (the new hotel) together. It was your vision,” Ms. Russell told Mr. Huber during the the grand opening.Some of the features of the Courtyard include:
113 guest rooms each with microwaves, mini-refrigerators, coffee/tea makers, 55-inch TVs, wireless internet and more.
The hotel spans about 67,263 square feet.
Currently, the hotel has about 35 employees.
The construction cost was about $16.84 million. (Mr. Huber told the crowd Tuesday that the total project cost was about $22 million.)
Meeting space accommodating up to 70 people.
There is an on-site restaurant called the Bistro, and a Starbucks Coffee shop.
Other amenities include: an indoor swimming pool, fitness center, guest laundry, patio fire pit, onsite catering, media pods for meetings and a collaboration meeting room.
Although Tuesday marked the official grand opening, the Courtyard by Marriott Bettendorf has been open and welcoming guests for about a week. In that time, guests have been giving the new business positive reviews.“We’ve had great and positive feedback from our guests. … They love the design of the rooms. They love the pool,” said Michelle Curtis, the Courtyard’s general manager.Mr. Huber said he was grateful to hear about the early positive reviews giving much of the credit to the hotel’s employees. “It’s one thing to build a beautiful building … but the heart and sole of this is the team,” he added.The new Courtyard by Marriott Bettendorf hotel will not be the last hotel project in the region for Mr. Huber and the FHG. During Tuesday night’s celebration, he told the crowd that work on a new SpringHill Suites by Marriott hotel will soon begin. The new hotel is planned for near the new Iron Tree Golf attraction by the TBK Sports Complex in Bettendorf. Construction work on the new 80-room SpringHill Suites will start “as soon as Mother Nature allows” next year and will likely be complete in early 2025, he added.
