Cliff Quinlan, Tony Rosati, Dean Bradley, Mayor Randy Hope

Beginning summer 2010, the new Holiday Inn Express and Suites will open to serve business and leisure travelers to Chatham-Kent.

The 117-room hotel is a $7 million redevelopment of the Wheels Inn Chatham at the corner of Keil and Richmond Streets. The existing 10-storey tower is being redeveloped to house completely renovated guestrooms including 17 suites with separate living room and kitchen area and three large suites with fireplace and jacuzzi. Sixty rooms will also feature showers. The top four floors of the tower will be set aside for an undetermined future use.

The major redevelopment of the Wheels Inn will be a welcome addition to the selection of accommodations this region offers, says Shelley Bechard, Tourism Development Representative, Chatham-Kent Tourism.

“We are looking forward to showcasing the Holiday Inn Express,” she adds.

The new hotel will feature a salt water indoor pool, fitness centre, two state-of-the-art boardrooms and a business centre with Internet access. In keeping with the Wheels Inn tradition, a games reserve in the new hotel will offer 30 redemption and video games. The front lobby and great room where the hotel’s ‘hallmark’ complimentary breakfast will be served will be separated by cascading waterfalls, explains General Manager Cliff Quinlan.

“In choosing a brand to us it was pretty clear that Holiday Inn Express was the fastest growing brand in the country right now … I think it will be a strong competitor in this particular marketplace,” adds Quinlan. The Wheels Inn continues to offer services to the community including its restaurant, Axle Annie’s Pub and Grille, until the Holiday Inn Express opens.

Approximately 40 to 50 employees will move from the Wheels Inn operation to the new hotel. The Bradley family has offered to donate the 63,000-square-foot building at the east end of the property to the Municipality of Chatham-Kent for future redevelopment. That section of the Wheels housed the bowling centre, Wild Zone Adventures, and fitness centre and spa.