A Franklin hotel that city officials have wanted for years is now open.
Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Franklin marks a key point in the development of the city’s eastside gateway. The opening was celebrated on Thursday afternoon after years in the making.
The $8 million, 81-room hotel at 350 Paris Drive is the result of 15 years of discussions regarding how to revitalize the city’s gateway, including adding hotels and now recruiting restaurants after building a roundabout.
City officials have longed wanted a hotel at what they consider to be the gateway of the city and the hotel sits right off Franklin’s Interstate 65 exit.
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"We are proud to have an anchor hotel like this," Franklin Mayor Steve Barnett said. "This is a big deal for Franklin."
Construction on a second hotel in the city’s east side gateway, a $13.6 million 92-room Hampton Inn & Suites Hotel off Paris Drive, behind Burger King, at the King Street exit off Interstate 65, started last October.
Hampton Inn & Suites Hotel is expected to open by next spring, Barnett said.
Two studies completed by an Indiana University professor who specializes in sports tourism and the National Association of Sports Commissions and released in 2014 showed that Franklin could host larger events in the city if they had more access to hotel rooms. At that time, Franklin had less than 175 rooms available to visitors.
The hotel is part of the Fairfield chain and the company has taken care in designing the hotel to be nostalgic of its farming roots, said Glenn Brooks, executive vice-president of sales and marketing for General Hotel Corporations.
The rooms feature wooden accents and other features and the hotel also has a fitness center, pool area, a meeting room for 20 to 25 people and a patio with a grill, Brooks said.
Franklin’s newest hotel also features 30 suites. Each suite has a king-size bed and a sitting area. Two televisions are featured in each suite.
Reading lights are installed on beds and the bathroom features complimentary toiletries that are in reusable, refillable bottles, instead of guests taking home their own personal bottle home after their stay.
The hotel opening is the results of years long work by city officials to bring a hotel to the city.
Franklin has long needed quality hotels and the developments are expected to help the city attract and retain businesses who need places for their executives and clients to stay, city officials have said.
"You want quality lodging for people to stay in your community," said Rob Richardson, one of the hotel owners.
