Even before the doors formally opened, Bothell’s new Hilton Garden Inn was set to host a number of business meetings and a wedding reception, said LeeAnne Brawner, director of sales for the hotel.
Straddling Interstate 405 along Bothell-Everett Highway, the hotel officially opened for business Oct. 19.
In addition to the already mentioned events, General Manager Chip Peterson talked about a class reunion and a memorial gathering being booked at the hotel.
“Today our doors are open wide and we can’t wait to welcome our friends and neighbors in Bothell,” Peterson said.
All in all, Brawner said the hotel simply was enjoying a worthy first week of bookings.
“We ramped up pretty quickly with group business,” Brawner said.
Four stories high with 128 rooms and nine suites, Brawner believes the new Hilton is the first opened in this area in some time. Developed and owned by The Hotel Group of Everett, Brawner added planners hope the hotel can cash in on business travelers during the week and leisure travelers on the weekends.
Brawner said the Hilton is especially targeting Bothell’s large, high-tech, bio-technology zone. Indeed, at least one of the business meetings slated in the first week of hotel operations was booked by a bio-tech company.
All in all, Brawner said the new Hilton has 3,500 square feet of meeting space. That space includes board room-like settings, as well as reception areas. The reception or ballroom can open up to a maximum of 2,100 square feet, accommodating 175 people.
Before opening, the Hilton ran a “name the boardroom” contest open to local residents. Peterson said the hotel went with “Centennial Boardroom” in honor of Bothell’s 100th anniversary last year and to mark the presence nearby of the city’s still freshly-dedicated Centennial Park.
According to Brawner, those 128 rooms all are equipped with firmness-adjustable beds. Room clock radios include ports for MP3 players. And, of course, each room has wired or wireless Internet access.
The Hilton’s suites consist of two larger rooms, complete with couches, a larger kitchen space than in the normal rooms and walk-in showers along with a bath tub.
For all guests and visitors, food service includes a bar and restaurant, serving breakfast and dinner. Brawner said planners decided not to offer lunch because of the many restaurants nearby.
The new hotel also features a somewhat unique indoor swimming pool. The pool uses salt water, which Brawner said reduces or eliminates much of the cleaning needed in a regular pool. The pool needs no chlorine and sits next to a large hot tub.
How exactly does one get ready to open a new hotel?
Brawner said she and Peterson were hired about a year ago and have been working on getting the Bothell location up and running for about nine months. That means dealing with various vendors and making sure various hotel systems are in place and operating. Much of the construction was handled by a construction manager. And, of course, Brawner added, she and Peterson oversaw the hiring of roughly 40 employees.
