Hotel Boom In East-Central El Paso

It was once an empty lot along Interstate 10, but in the last two years, several hotels have popped up on Gateway East between Robert E. Lee and Hawkins in East-Central El Paso.

The latest addition is the Hotel Garden Inn, which opened for business last December.

On Wednesday, hotel officials celebrated the grand opening.

The Hilton Garden Inn has 145 guest rooms, a conference room with an occupancy of about 400 people, a full restaurant and bar, and a pool and spa.

General Manager Adrian Perez said the hotel boom in that area started with just one hotel a couple of years ago, and now it’s a prime location for new business.

The demand for lodging was one of the deciding factors of the hotel’s location, said Perez.

Centrally located, the new establishment is only a few miles from El Paso International Airport.

According to Perez, the hotel occupancy rate between the Hilton Garden Inn and the Homewood Suites located next door is about 70 percent.

The Homewood Suites is also owned by the Hilton.

“With hotels opening, it tells you what the economic boom is in El Paso. Obviously my management company and our owners don’t build hotels that are going fail, so they see the value in El Paso,” said Perez.

The demand for more hotels is good news to the Sun City.

Officials with the El Paso Convention and Visitors Bureau said El Paso is a popular I-10 stop for travelers and tourism is also seeing a boost.

Bill Blaziek, general manager for the CVB, said lodging has increased about 7% every year in the last three years.

“We are quickly reaching about 10,000 quality rooms in El Paso, which really puts us in a strong position as far as tourism,” said Blaziek

Travelers can expect more options in the near future.

Perez said two more hotels are expected to go up within a mile of the Hotel Garden Inn.