Holiday Inn Express to be built on Madison Boulevard, existing Holiday Inn Hunstville-West to change brands

A new, 100-room Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites is coming to Madison.

The Holiday Inn Express will be located at 8950 Madison Blvd., across the street from the existing Holiday Inn Huntsville-West.

The new hotel is expected to open Jan. 1, 2012.

The Holiday Inn Express, which is not affiliated with the Holiday Inn Huntsville-West, has an outparcel for a restaurant, and Omega Hotel Group President Bob Komar said he is hoping to finalize plans with a tenant for the restaurant and start construction in the fall.

“We are excited to be part of the growth in Madison/Huntsville, and are looking forward to our continued involvement in the city’s exciting and dynamic changes,” Komar said.

Omega Hotel group is a hotel development and management company based in Athens, and the group owns and operates 11 hotels in Alabama, Florida and Tennessee.

The new 100-unit Holiday Inn Express will feature complimentary breakfast, suites, an indoor pool a fitness room and meeting facilities.

The franchise agreement for existing Holiday Inn Huntsville-West at 9035 Madison Blvd., runs out in December 2012, and Director of Operations Debbie Newman said the hotel would continue operating, but just under a new name.

“We’ve decided to go in a different direction,” Newman said of dropping the Holiday Inn franchise name. “We’re still looking into (which brand to go with), and we’re trying to pick the best option for our hotel.

“We’ve plan on continuing to operate like we have since 1985, and we plan on do bigger and better things,” she added.