It came down to the wire in terms of qualifying for tax incentives offered by Roanoke City for developing on what was formerly a brownfield property, but the upscale Cambria Suites finally opened its doors with a soft launch in June. Last Friday the hotel at 301 Reserve Avenue finally held a grand opening celebration, showing off its modern motif, the Wolfgang Puck coffee bar and rooms with every sort of amenity a business traveler might want.
General Manager Lynne Laidlaw said about 50% of the Cambria Suites Roanoke business currently comes from the Virginia Tech-Carilion medical school-research complex next door, from visiting physicians at Carilion Clinic just down the road, and from related entities. “[But] we’re getting a lot of business from other places in the area,” said Laidlaw.
The Cambria Suites Roanoke is the 21st built in a chain owned by Choice Hotels, which launched its upscale brand in 2007. Rooms range from about $99-$130 a night, according to Laidlaw. The hotel also features an indoor pool and hot tub room, a sun deck, exercise room, a boardroom for up to ten people and a conference center that can seat about 60.
There are media centers in each room for wireless Internet, gaming etc., at no extra charge. In the common area just inside the entrance, flat screen TV’s, a full service bar and comfortable furniture greet the weary traveler.
“Occupancy is running at about 65-70%,” said Laidlaw. “It’s gearing up more and more every month. We’re real happy with that [and] we’re starting to get our fair share.” Laidlaw says hotels like to average about 85-90% occupancy. Cambria Suites Roanoke has started to craft some specially priced packages, that include admission to several of the museums downtown. “We’re very encouraged,” said Laidlaw, “things are going better than we thought.”
The Trip Advisor website has already rated the Roanoke property as one of the top Cambria hotels in the country after just three months. “The Cambria focuses on service,” notes Laidlaw, “you can have this beautiful product and … hotel. If you get bad service you’re never coming back.”
The Cambria Suites Roanoke also has a full service restaurant. Laidlaw said they are trying to capture more of the lunch crowd from the VT-Carilion complex it borders. “It’s a wait and see game, we’ll see how it goes.”
(See cambriasuitesroanoke.com for more information)
By Gene Marrano [email protected]
