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Fairfield Inn Owners Not Done Yet — Reveal Plans for Two More Hotels Here

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If you thought the hotel construction boom in Berrien County was largely over, a couple of hoteliers will beg to differ with you as they now have plans in the works for two more properties in the region, and those are on top of the soon to get underway third hotel in a row on Cinema Way in Benton Township.

Just minutes after the formal ribbon cutting on his new Fairfield Inn & Suites on Red Arrow Highway in Stevensville this evening, Mike Patel stepped out of the limelight briefly, pulled me aside and said…”We’re not done yet!” He then proceeded to tell me that he and his partner will soon roll out plans for two additional name brand lodging facilities in northern Berrien County bringing another 200 rooms to the marketplace.

With a tally like that, each of the two forthcoming properties would be at least as large as or potentially a bit larger than the Fairfield Inn & Suites which sports 87 rooms in a 58,000 square foot facility spread over three floors along Red Arrow Highway.

The partners are finalizing options on several parcels in the county to bring still more lodging capacity to the market which has already seen openings of the new Staybridge Inn & Suites and the SpringHill Suites by Marriott which sit side-by-side on Cinema Way in Benton Township right across the street from Patel’s own Hilton Garden Inn which opened only a year earlier.

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Patel was quite excited to spill the news of two new properties, even in the wake of the announcement by the Staybridge and SpringHill developer Sam Sandiha that he will break ground this fall or winter on a new Courtyard by Marriott alongside the Staybridge property on Cinema Way.

Patel and his partners are playing the news close to the vest, leaving specific locations unidentified pending finalization of site plan work and other key elements.

Meanwhile, they entertained a nearly full house for their formal ribbon cutting ceremonies with both Cornerstone Chamber of Commerce and the Lakeshore Chamber, nearly six months after opening for business back in April. They purposely held off on hosting the ceremonies due to the extremely busy summer season which kept them hopping at the beautiful new hotel.

Patel said back in May that what should have been a standard 11-month build out turned into a 15-month marathon sparked by demands to scale back the original four-story site plan to a three-story structure and other issues regarding the specific zoning description for the facility.

Nevertheless, the end result is a first-class lodging property complete with all of the amenities that road warriors like in their hotel stays. The spacious and airy lobby features a small “Corner Market” sundries shop, a full-scale breakfast center where guests of the hotel enjoy free breakfast meals every day, an airy business center, and broad hallways leading to a sizable, well-equipped Fitness Center, Guest Laundry, Indoor Swimming Pool and a spacious patio off the breakfast center.

The upswept portico entrance allows for easy check-in regardless of the weather, and guests can select from four room styles including King Suites, Double Queen Suites, Standard King Rooms and Standard Double Queen Rooms.

All rooms are very sharply appointed with contemporary furniture, art and styling. Each room features a small microwave, in-room refrigerator and coffee maker as well as large, computer-capable, flat screen TV monitors which can access the guest’s individual Netflix, Hulu, YouTube or other accounts on screen along with HD TV channels from the region. Each room also features free high-speed Internet access. All rooms feature bathroom mirrors with LED lighted frames and the suites feature high-quality sliding glass shower enclosures.

There are 120 parking slots on site to allow for those attending meetings in the house and reservations can be made online at any time for stays now or well into the future.

Stay tuned for more on the next adventures of Mr. Patel and partners who also own and operate the Comfort Suites of Stevensville which they opened in 2004 and the Hilton Garden Inn of Benton Harbor which opened in 2014.