Innisfree Hotels
Press Release
December 11, 2019
Innisfree Hotels has broken ground on its latest development project, a dual-branded SpringHill Suites and Courtyard by Marriott hotel located at 2900 Atlantic Avenue in Amelia Island, Fla.
The hotel company will partner with Main Beach Sojourn LLLP, carrying on a 26-year affiliation of principals associated with the former Amelia Island Care Center located on the site.
The all-new hotel boasts 239 rooms including suites, a resort-style pool deck with in-pool seating, a courtyard with fire pit area and poolside bar, a fitness room, 6,086 sq. ft. of meeting space and a location within walking distance of the Atlantic Ocean.
“We’ve had the privilege of being part of the Amelia Island community for the past three years,” says Ted Ent, CEO of Innisfree Hotels. “The growth and development happening on Fernandina Beach and Amelia Island as a whole is exciting, and we’re looking forward to being able to welcome even more guests to the Atlantic Coast.”
This is the second Marriott property in the Innisfree Hotels portfolio, and Ent and his team are partial to the brand.
“They have an outstanding reservation system, unparalleled customer loyalty program and a robust marketing strategy that spans the entire globe,” he says. “It gives us confidence knowing we will be offering a top-notch, quality product to our guests.”
Innisfree Hotels was recently ranked by Hotel Business, the top source for hotel industry information according to Harvey Research, as the 40th largest hotel owner and developer in the United States.
“Our recent ranking at No. 40 is a direct result of our team’s dedication to a sustainable beach-oriented development strategy, our partners and our commitment to providing fun, memorable experiences to our guests,” Ent says.
The hotel is slated to open in the spring of 2021.
ABOUT INNISFREE HOTELS
For more than three decades, Innisfree Hotels has expertly managed, marketed and developed dozens of hotels in partnership with many of the world’s most recognized hotel brands. Today, the company owns or operates over 2,500 hotel rooms, with approximately 1,573 employees. Innisfree is the largest beachfront hotel owner-operator on the Gulf Coast.
Innisfree is a triple bottom line company, measuring success not only in profits but also through its impact on people and the planet. To these ends, Innisfree strives to promote a culture of responsibility and service to humanity. A value-driven corporate culture enables the company to have a deeper understanding of the needs of its guests, partners, and clients, thus delivering service that is synonymous with creating fun and memorable experiences. To read more about Innisfree Hotels, visit www.innisfreehotels.com.
Bah Humbug!
Great news!! Tourism is the lifeblood of Amelia Island. About time that prime location was developed. New jobs, new tax revenue, everyone wins…..hooray.
It’s a good location at main beach on an abandoned site that had very few trees to begin with. Close to Salt Life and Sandbar, easy to get to downtown shops and restaurants. These are family vacation hotels, which helps balance the high-end resorts for those on a budget.
Well said. And within city limits, a welcome new business.
Gerald and Frank glad you are excited about this….I certainly am not. I live on Tarpon Ave. and you cannot get onto Atlantic Ave. now without a long wait from traffic going east and west. It will be a tortuous event when the hotel is built.
“Innisfree is a triple bottom line company, measuring success not only in profits but also through its impact on people and the planet. To these ends, Innisfree strives to promote a culture of responsibility and service to humanity.” Up side down, inside out and backwards.
Do a drive-by of the property with the elevator towers now in place. It is then that you will realize this is the work of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and a whole lot more from Fernandina Beach. City fathers have allowed the destruction of a significant swath of maritime forest based on a fib the Grinch told that we “need” 239 more hotel rooms on top of all that we are getting already. Sad.
I don’t think the maritime forest on AI is in any danger….but the ability of AI to prosper in the 21st century will be without managed development that minimizes harm to the ecosystem.
Look forward to the Grand opening.Hope they will help releave room availability and price gouging during event weekend s
Cannot believe the city counsel approved this building. ya’ll are ruining fernadina with all this mess
..ya’ll should be ashamed…
I don’t usually do tit-for-tat in these conversations. But reiterating a previous post, the development at this site is just the type Fernandina Beach, Amelia Island and Nassau County needs. It is good business, creates jobs and helps to diversify the tax base. I am in favor of managed development and environmental stewardship.
Since I am familiar with this location, I beg to differ with a few previous posts. We have friends and family who live north on Tarpon Avenue so go there regularly. To state that there is a traffic problem there is a bit of a stretch. There are definitely peak times when six or so cars need to pass in order to get onto Atlantic. So, two minutes or so and three minutes, max. Keeping my snark to a minimum, if you decide to live near a place called “Main Beach” that is accessed by two of the island’s main roads, with beach access and restaurants and public sports facilities plus sizable parking lots – and surprised/unhappy there is any resultant traffic – I’m not sure what to say.
When the hotels open, the city will need to make sure the transportation department pays attention and puts in needed remedies. But it’s important to accept that these hotels will be there in order for the guests to walk to the beach. And, walk to the nearby restaurants, the putt-putt course and the hot-dog stand.
Regarding the destruction of a maritime forest. That location was essentially a vacant lot, the former site of the Amelia Island Care Center, situated directly behind the Driftwood Surf Shop. So any further tree removal was minimal, the damage had been done. These factors (economic development/expanded tax base, job creation & minimal impact) are why I believe this is a good move. It’s fantasy to believe the island and adjoining county will not grow and be developed. We need to support appropriate development while diligently opposing improper development.
Believe me – if this thing were, say, at the corner of Atlantic Avenue & 8th I’d be the first to put on my Guy Fawkes mask and storm city hall with torch and pitchfork. But the thought of putting a family-oriented beach hotel at the beach is as American as apple pie.
It is important that the pro-managed development opinions shared here be heard when decisions are being made. Too often the “no development no way” mob takes over the conversation. Most important, though, is to elect commissioners who understand that we can create growth without the sky falling, and without name calling.