We Value Bloomington-Normal

NORMAL -- The Hampton Inn & Suites opened at the Shoppes at College Hills in Normal Monday, the first of many new Twin City hotels set to open this year or next.

"Our location is perfect right next to the Shoppes. It gives our guests something to do at night," said Joel Ramseyer, the hotel's director of sales. The hotel sits at northwest corner of the Shoppes along Veterans Parkway.

The 128-room hotel has a swimming pool, a fitness room, a business center, a small convenience store and a conference room that can house up to 100 people. It also has a breakfast bar serving hot meals, fresh fruit, muffins, cereal and beverages.

Each room has complimentary wireless Internet access as well as connections for dial-up service, Ramseyer said. All rooms also have 32-inch high-definition televisions and rentable Nintendo Gamecube games.

Rooms range from $99 to $189 per night, he said.

When the adjacent Destihl Restaurant and Brew Works -- formerly called Gridiron Brew Works -- opens this fall, it will provide catering and room service for the Hampton Inn, Ramseyer said. Guests can charge the meals to their hotel tabs.

The Hampton Inn is the first of several new hotels set to open in Bloomington-Normal this year or next. Others in the works include

• a Holiday Inn & Suites in east Bloomington,
• a Marriot Hotel and Conference Center in uptown Normal,
• an AmericInn in north Normal,
• a Fairfield Inn & Suites in west Bloomington and
• a Candlewood Suites in east Normal.

That's about 740 new rooms combined. Bloomington-Normal currently has about 2,900 rooms, according to figures from the Bloomington-Normal Area Conventions and Visitors Bureau.

Gridiron

Owner Matthew Potts changed the restaurant's name so people would not confuse it for a sports bar. The original name was supposed to play off the restaurant's grill, but most people associate "gridiron" with football, he said. Potts is planning Destihl to be a sit-down restaurant with live music on the weekend.