In another addition to Fresno's growing roster of new hotels, a Visalia developer and an East Coast hotel chain are teaming to build a 129-room Cambria Suites hotel expected to open in early 2009 near Fresno Yosemite International Airport.
Silver Spring, Md.-based Choice Hotels International Inc. announced Thursday that it will work with Visalia developer Anil Chagan to build the hotel at the corner of McKinley and Peach avenues.
Chagan, a general partner in Visalia-based Infinite Hospitality, said the new hotel will cost about $15 million, with construction expected to start in January.
The new Cambria Suites hotel will be the first project in Fresno for Infinite Hospitality, which has developed four hotels and owns the Comfort Suites hotel in Visalia, Chagan said.
"We've been trying to do something in the Fresno airport market for some time," he said, and Cambria Suites "is an exciting franchise -- very modern, something different from the other hotels."
Choice Hotels International Inc. promises that its new Cambria Suites brand will offer larger-than-usual rooms with large-screen TVs, CD and DVD players and Internet service, as well as a restaurant with a coffee bar, a fitness center and a 24-hour convenience store with freshly prepared salads and sandwiches.
Rooms will cost about $149 to $189 a night, Chagan said.
Cambria Suites is just one of about eight new hotels being built or planned for the Fresno area, said Roger Story, president of the Fresno Hotel Motel Association.
Those new hotels are expected to add about 1,000 rooms to Fresno's estimated 7,000 existing hotel rooms over the next few years, Story said.
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