VERO BEACH — SpringHill Suites by Marriott, hidden behind clusters of live oaks preserved during development, opened today adjacent to Grand Harbor on the north end of Indian River Boulevard.
The 93-room hotel hired an opening team of 19 full-time workers through Workforce Solutions and that crew has been busy getting the property “guest ready” over the past couple of weeks, according to General Manager Brenda Celano, who moved to Vero from North Carolina in January to launch the hotel.
SpringHill Suites is the county’s first Marriott hotel and Celano said its all-suite concept is designed for both travelers and for extended stay. “All the rooms will be studio suites, they will have refrigerators and microwaves and will have both wired and wireless high-speed internet in all the rooms,” Celano said. “Each suite will have a sleeper sofa and two half-baths, one with a toilet and a sink and one with a vanity and either a shower or tub.”The hotel offers a free complimentary hot breakfast each morning, but it does not have an in-house restaurant, as there are two outparcels available along Indian River Boulevard on which the developer, Kite Properties of Vero Beach, is hoping to attract a restaurant, bank or other amenity that will be used not only by hotel guests, but by the residents of Grand Harbor and the Fairways next door. Celano said the hotel is completely smoke-free and pet-free and that special attention has been paid to choosing the prints and paintings to adorn the hallways and rooms to make the property feel like Vero.”All of the artwork we’re using is local,” Celano said.Kite Properties received site approval in February 2008 on the 4.5-acre parcel, with civil engineering work done by Knight McGuire and Associates of Vero Beach. The massive live oak relocation was commenced in May 2008 so they could break ground on the hotel in July 2008.”These are beautiful trees that have been here for 50 to 150 years,” said Keith Kite, Managing Member of Kite Properties, LLC. “We want to be good stewards of the land and we believe that by relocating the trees we can preserve them and make sure they are here for years to come.”A total of 34 trees were relocated to make way for the hotel building and two specimen trees were donated to McKee Botanical Gardens.SpringHill Suites expects to be adding more staff now that the hotel is open. Applications are available at the front desk. Celano said that, as the hotel is being managed by Atlanta-based Hotel Equities, job seekers would not be able to apply through the Marriott corporate website. A Grand Opening celebration is planned for October, when more of the seasonal residents of Grand Harbor, Oak Harbor and surrounding communities who are the hotel’s neighbors, will be back in town.