Published in the August 14th issue of The Edmonton Sun. News
Marriott hotel in works for Edmonton Int’l Airport
LINDA HOANG
Edmonton Sun
The Edmonton International Airport is getting a new addition — a Courtyard by Marriott hotel.
The new hotel will be eight-stories tall, 190,000 square-feet, and feature 189 rooms. It will also employ about 200 workers.
The decision to build the hotel was an easy one, officials said, as customers have regularly asked about airport hotel accommodations.
“This is one of the most requested customer service amenities,” said Peter McCart, airport vice-president of marketing and business development.
“Just the sheer convenience of having a hotel attached to the airport and having on-site check-in inside the hotel just really makes it an appealing and attractive service offering,”
The announcement made Friday adds on to the airport’s current Expansion 2012 plans, which will see an expanded terminal, combined control and office tower, and more restaurants and retail stores added to the airport.
The hotel will be developed by local company Platinum Investments Ltd., which currently owns and operates two hotels in west Edmonton. The hotel will be financed in partnership with ATB Financial and the EIA.
“If you take a look at a lot of major cities across Canada they all do have airport hotels so it only makes sense to go through with this,” said Rahim Meghji with Platinum Investments Ltd. “There is definitely a demand for this.”
The EIA had looked into building a hotel on site in past years but the recession delayed the process, say officials.
“We had worked on a project previously and the financials proved difficult with the escalating inflation as well as the financial crisis which was upon us. It really delayed our plans for building this hotel,” McCart said.
The hotel will be full service, including a restaurant, fitness centre and indoor pool. It will be built northeast of the airport terminals and connected to the airport via pedway.
Construction is set to begin in Spring 2011 and be completed by the end of 2012.
No price tag for the hotel has been announced.
Meghji said his company is continuing to look into construction costs before determining a final cost.
