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Here’s how Hampton Roads has been filling more of its hotel rooms than San Diego, Orlando, Hawaii

The Virginian-Pilot

September 3, 2020

NORFOLK VA

The door to each room is sealed shut with a sticker, not as some sort of movie-style trap to detect a burglar, but to guarantee to those staying the night that no one else has dared enter since it was cleaned.

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It’s just one of the steps the new Tru by Hilton Norfolk Airport hotel is taking since it opened six months into a global health pandemic that still keeps many people closer to home and on the ground, eschewing air travel for road trip

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Virginia Beach's Princess Anne area to get a new hotel and restaurant

The Virginian-Pilot

March 20, 2019

VIRGINIA BEACH VA

The Princess Anne area will get its first hotel, filling a critical need for the area, according to city officials. The Virginia Beach City Council voted on Tuesday to sell nearly 4 acres of city land for $2.3 million to make way for a hotel and standalone restaurant near Tidewater Community College.

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Harmony Hospitality Inc., which owns about a dozen hotels in Hampton Roads, will develop the 116-room hotel for $10 million on the corner of Princess Anne Road and Community College Place.

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New hotel concept in Norfolk near the outlet mall and Ikea

The Virginian-Pilot

November 26, 2018

NORFOLK VA

The area near the Norfolk Premium Outlets could be getting a new hotel concept.

Harmony Companies, which owns land adjacent to the shopping mall – including an existing Quality Suites and Sleep Inn property – wants to build a 98-room Tru by Hilton hotel, according to an application submitted with Norfolk's Architectural Review Board.

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It would be the first Tru hotel in the region. Hilton describes the brand as "vibrant, affordable and young-at-heart."

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Embassy Suites holds

Grand Opening

Wilmington Star News

March 15, 2018

WILMINGTON NC

Mayor Bill Saffo likened the development of the Embassy Suites hotel near the Wilmington Convention Center to a championship boxing match. It seemed like every time we thought we were doing well, someone would come along and hit us. We’d get knocked down, but I was ... sure we were going to keep fighting and get this done,” Saffo said during Thursday’s grand opening ceremony for the 186-room hotel.

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The hotel began accepting customers Dec. 31, when it hosted a New Year’s party. Thursday’s ceremony was intended to officially open the hotel and its rooftop bar, but high winds Thursday prevented the bar’s opening. Hotel spokeswoman Melissa Fallis said the bar would open at 4 p.m. Friday.

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Wilmington finally has its convention center hotel

Wilmington Star News

March 15, 2018

WILMINGTON NC

The Embassy Suites hotel, long viewed by city officials as the linchpin to make the Wilmington Convention Center a success, has officially opened....

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The nine-story, 186-room hotel, connected to the convention center, hosted a New Year’s party to welcome its first guests, hotel spokeswoman Melissa Fallis said. During a tour of Wilmington’s newest hotel last week, she walked past a pool that still wasn’t open and showed off the rooftop bar, No. 9, which was still under construction.

“We’re still putting a few finishing touches on the place,” Fallis said.

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Best Western Williamsburg Historic District Hotel Renovation

July 7, 2017

WILLIAMSBURG VA

Emerging from a two-million-dollar renovation, the Best Western Williamsburg Historic District Hotel is now open and welcoming guests. At 351 York Street, the hotel is centrally located to the attractions in America’s Historic Triangle. Whether visiting the colonial capitol for sightseeing, golfing, or shopping, the Williamsburg Historic District hotel is the perfect choice for your accommodations

 

 

 

Download a media release and photographs of the Best Western Williamsburg Historic Hotel.

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Convention Center Hotel On Track To Open In October

Wilmington Biz

May 17, 2017

WILMINGTON, NC

The Wilmington Convention Center hotel is on track to open by October, an official with the hotel's development company said Wednesday.

The $40 million, 186-room Embassy Suites is under construction by hotel owner and operator Harmony Hospitality. Its full name is Embassy Suites by Hilton Wilmington Riverfront, located at 9 Estell Lee Place....

 

The pace of construction on the Embassy Suites, which is connected to the convention center at 515 Nutt St., has picked up after some delays, said Brooks Johnson, director of development for Harmony Hospitality.

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Hotels beside Norfolk outlet mall construction site sold

The Virginian-Pilot

October 5, 2016

NORFOLK VA

A Virginia Beach commercial real estate firm with several hotel properties has bought the struggling Quality Suites and Sleep Inn beside the Norfolk outlet mall construction site.

The new owners have no immediate plans to renovate the hotel. But its proximity to the forthcoming outlets – and an Ikea scheduled to open in 2018 – make the site an attractive one.

Harmony Investments Inc., which also has the Wyndham Hotel at the Oceanfront and the Doubletree Hotel and Hampton Inn at Norfolk Airport in its portfolio, purchased the dual-branded property last week, confirmed Brooks Johnson, Harmony's director of development.

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Officials Break Ground On Convention Center Hotel

Wilmington Biz

March 10, 2016

WILMINGTON NC

With the groundbreaking of a Wilmington Convention Center-adjacent hotel, officials say the five-year-old center can meet more of its revenue-generating potential.

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What’s been a missing piece of the convention center’s attraction puzzle, the coming $36 million Embassy Suites Hotel, is expected to help bring additional visitors to the city. The hotel is expected to attract more – and larger sized group – conventions to the area

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How sweet it is: Officials Break Ground On Convention Center Hotel

Port City Daily

February 13, 2016

WILMINGTON NC

Several dozen people braved cold temperatures and freezing rain Friday morning to attend the groundbreaking of the long-anticipated hotel adjacent to the Wilmington Convention Center.

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After years of delays, including a legal battle regarding the sale of the land where the hotel will be built, construction will finally begin on the 162,866 square-foot Embassy Suites Hotel.

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“How sweet it is!” Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo said to start off his speech. “We are finally here.”

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City sells land for Convention Center Hotel

December 3, 2014

WILMINGTON NC

Today, the City of Wilmington finalized the land sale for a $33.6 million Embassy Suites Hotel next to the Wilmington Convention Center. Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo and other city officials joined representatives from Harmony Hospitality, Inc. in signing documents for the final closing at City Hall

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What is going on at 1300 Diamond Springs Road?

The Virginian-Pilot

July 22, 2015

VIRGINIA BEACH VA

Land is being cleared in preparation for an upscale apartment complex....The project will feature 180 units housed in two-four story buildings, and a stand-alone clubhouse with business center, swimming pool, fitness and gaming rooms, outdoor grilling areas and a fire pit.

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It's a joint venture with Harmony Investments, said Andrew Basham, principal of Spy Rock Real Estate Group.

"The setting is truly unique, given the beautiful view of the Virginia Tech Arboretum and the heavily wooded north end of the property," said Basham.

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Convention Center Hotel Dispute: Appeals Court Rules in City's Favor

Wilmington Biz

June 16, 2015

WILMINGTON NC

The state Court of Appeals unanimously ruled in the city of Wilmington's favor in a legal dispute involving the planned convention center hotel, city officials announced Tuesday.

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At issue was a 2006 legal agreement that outlined how the privately-owned hotel could be built....The sale was upheld in Superior Court, but then appealed to the N.C. Court of Appeals.

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New name, new look for Airport Hilton

Inside Business

April 11, 2014

NORFOLK VA

The Hilton Norfolk Airport has a new name: the DoubleTree by Hilton Norfolk Airport.

The brand change comes after $2.2 million in renovations were recently completed at the hotel, a 250-room site that sits at 1500 N. Military Hwy. Among other things, the rooms have been redesigned to brand standards, and the entrance and lobby were completely revamped.

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Opinion: Hilton's Owner Shouldn't Try To Block The Convention Center Hotel

Wilmington Biz

February 5, 2014

Wilmington, NC

By Rob Kaiser

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Below is an open letter to Andrew Sims, CEO of Sotherly Hotels, which owns the Hilton Wilmington Riverside:

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Wilmington, N.C. Oks Deal with Harmony Hospitality for $33.6 Million Riverfront Embassy Suites

Hotel Online

February 5, 2014

​Years after Wilmington began seeking a developer to build an upscale hotel next to the downtown convention center, the city council on Tuesday unanimously approved a deal for a $33.6 million Embassy Suites on the riverfront.

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The deal is significant because convention center officials have long said an attached hotel is paramount to the success of the center as it attempts to draw events and conventions. 

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