FORT LAUDERDALE, FL— Hampton Inn Hotel City Center, downtown Ft. Lauderdales first new hotel in almost seven decades, will celebrate its grand opening on April 18th with a cocktail reception and ribbon cutting ceremony performed by The Honorable Jim Naugle, Mayor of the City of Ft. Lauderdale. About 500 local residents, business professionals and city officials are expected to attend, including Mayor Jim Naugle, City Commissioner Tim Smith and Assistant City Manager Pete Witschen. Bernard Wolfson, President of Hospitality Operations, the hotels developer and South Floridas largest and fastest growing franchisee of Hampton Inn Hotels, plans to turn the tables on Mayor Naugle by presenting him with a symbolic `Key to the Hotel. The $15 million Hampton Inn City Center is the first new hotel in downtown Ft. Lauderdale since the 1930s. The 156-room, 11-story limited service hotel, located on N. Andrews Avenue, began a soft-opening in early February. Each the hotels guestrooms feature high-speed Internet access, at no additional cost, as well as twin telephones with voice mail, speaker feature and data ports, and in-room safes. The hotel also offers a business center, 2,000 square feet of meeting space, an exercise room, an outdoor swimming pool, and an on-site convenience store.
