PANAMA CITY BEACH – visitors have a new, more comfortable accommodation while traveling through Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP).

The Hilton Garden Inn opened on Thursday near the intersection of Venture Crossings Boulevard and West Bay Parkway. The development was led by the St. Joe Company and is the first hotel to open near the airport.

It has more than 140 rooms, a meeting room, a pool, a fitness center and a full-service restaurant.

“It’s great for our community and great for the airport,” said Parker McClellan, ECP executive director. “It will give our passengers an advantage on both early morning departures and late arrivals. The early morning departures really won’t feel that early if you stay at the hotel.”

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Although the hotel is convenient for tourists, David Demarest, St. Joe’s hospitality spokesman, said it will also benefit the local economy by making it easier for business travelers to Bay County.

The hotel is 12 miles from Pier Park, arguably the heart of the beach, and 7 miles from Latitude Margaritaville Watersound, a Jimmy Buffett community aimed at those 55 and over.

The Hilton Garden Inn near Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport offers more than 140 rooms, meeting rooms, a pool, fitness center and a full-service restaurant.

“The airport will be an important part of how people visit the area and how people do business in the area,” said Demarest. “Nobody’s got a hotel within probably ten miles.”

According to Katja Chatfield, the hotel’s general manager, the facility had its first guest within three hours of opening at 2 p.m. on Thursday. That number jumped to around 20 later that night.

Chatfield added that the hotel is open to everyone, not just those traveling through the airport.

“If you fly in or take one of your family members or friends to the airport, you can’t miss us,” she said. “If you’re going to the airport for anything, here we are … a beautiful, brand new, sparkling penny.”

Among the first guests to visit the hotel was Ian Andrzejewski, who came to install the computer software for managing the hotel bar and restaurant.

Andrzejewski said he travels the country a lot and that virtually every airport has a hotel nearby for its guests.

He found that the airport’s restaurant, Garden Grille & Bar, is about twice the size of the restaurants he has been to at other Hilton Garden Inns. It’s not only open to guests, but to everyone in the community.

“Having an … airport that is a short drive or a short walk from (a hotel) is super convenient for overnight stays, for overlays, for business travelers,” said Andrzejewski. “I think it’s going to be great for the local business community and everyone who comes by.”

Panama City Beach Mayor Mark Sheldon said the Hilton Garden Inn will be “a launch pad” for more hotels to be built around the ECP, which continues to grow and top 1 million for the first time in 2019 Passengers.

Sheldon said he anticipates more hotels to be announced in the area later this year.

“Having more accommodation options near our busy airport gives everyone in the area more flexibility,” he wrote in an email. “It also encourages more activity for people out of state who have an early flight to spend the night near the airport.”