Published September 2005

Holiday Inn brings
conference center to Everett

Snohomish County Business Journal/JOHN WOLCOTT A new lobby, conference rooms, guest rooms, indoor pool and a restaurant are part of the totally new Holiday Inn opening in downtown Everett in November.

By John Wolcott
SCBJ Editor

Downtown Everett is about to gain a major conference, convention and tourism center with the opening of the new 243-room Holiday Inn at 3105 Pine St. in early November, providing banquet and conference space for groups of 10 to 800.

General Manager Doug Bartells recently provided a tour of the former Howard Johnson Hotel site, detailing the major renovation changes that will produce an entirely new hotel that he expects will serve the city’s downtown core, including the nearby Everett Events Center’s visiting convention guests, business visitors, sports teams and tourists.

“We’ve completely gutted the hotel to the ceilings, we’re painting the outside in brighter colors, and we’re installing new air conditioning, carpeting, all new furnishings, plumbing, a renovated pool, new exercise room, kitchen, restaurant and lighting. Everything in this building has been entirely replaced and new entrances added, with an entirely new lobby,” Bartells said.

He said people are already slipping business cards under the construction site gate, asking when the hotel will be open. He said he’s already had a lot of interest from people and businesses in the community .

The multimillion-dollar revamping of the hotel promises new life for the highly visible site adjacent to Interstate 5 now that new owners and new money have taken on an extreme makeover of the facility that once was a mainstay for chamber of commerce meetings, sales and investment seminars and association conferences.

When the Holiday Inn opens, it will provide some of the largest banquet and conference space north of Seattle, offering nearly 12,000 square feet of flexible gathering space that includes a grand ballroom, multiple meeting rooms, and an executive board room, complete with audio/video equipment, catering services and a full-service restaurant.

Along with high-speed Internet service in the rooms, including the seven parlor suites with views of the Cascade Mountains, there will be wireless service in the meeting spaces and public areas, a lounge, fresh Northwest cuisine, an espresso bar and free parking on the street level and in the hotel’s garage.

For more information, contact Director of Sales Verna Harbaugh at 425-259-3805, vernah@hieverett.com or through the new hotel’s Web site at www.hieverett.com. The site will be in full service soon but some information and photos already are on the site.

Back to the top/September 2005 Main Menu