KNOXVILLE, TN— A new Hilton Garden Inn slated to open here next month will offer guests a number of unique amenities, including a wine and cigar terrace and outdoor Jacuzzi with a heated deck for year-round use. Slated to open on Aug. 31, the 118-room hotel is owned by Knoxville Hotel Hospitality LLC and cost more than $9 million to build, according to Michael Gibson, chief manager and operating partner of the firm, which has eight hotels operating or under development in Tennessee. The new Hilton Garden Inn will be operated by his management firm, M. Gibson Hotels. “We’re very excited about this property because of the amenities it will offer,” Gibson said. The wine and cigar terrace will be on the second floor of the four-story hotel, he said. “We’ll be doing wine and cigar dinners there for groups and a few vineyards have expressed interest” in running special events where they will present their products, he said. The wine and cigar terrace will be open to the public, as well, he added. “The outdoor Jacuzzi is also a different amenity. I don’t think any of the other Hilton Garden Inns have this,” Gibson said. “We will also have other outdoor patios,” which is unusual for the brand, he said. Additionally, room service will be provided by Carrabbas Italian Grill, a restaurant located next to the hotel. “They have a great menu with everything from calamari to crab cakes,” Gibson said. Along with Carrabbas, three other restaurants are near the new Hilton Garden Inn, including an Outback Steakhouse, Grady’s and Applebees. “The fact that we have four restaurants so close to us is also somewhat unique,” Gibson said. “We’ll also have four spa rooms in the building, which will be double-size rooms with Jacuzzis, and some of the suites will have business parlors for meetings. Both of these features are out of the ordinary for the brand,” Gibson said. The new hotel will have many other more traditional amenities including a guestroom hospitality center with a coffeemaker, microwave oven and refrigerator. Rooms will also feature voicemail and dataports; complimentary high-speed Internet access; oversize executive desks with pullout shelves for laptop computers and ergonomic chairs; 25-inch remote-control televisions; and plush lounge chairs with ottomans. Additionally, the hotel has an indoor pool; a fitness center; 24-hour business center with two computer workstations; and 1,500 square feet of meeting space which opens on to a large outdoor terrace. “In the Pavilion we’ll have a two-sided fireplace with a bar area which our guests will enjoy,” Gibson said. “And there will be a full-service pantry which will offer beer, wine and splits of champagne as well as things like microwave entrees and ice cream.” The hotel is expected to draw a corporate clientele, Gibson said. “It will be 80% to 85% corporate with the rest leisure and sports groups. This is a big sports market with 108,000 people coming in on weekends” for various sporting events, he said.
