Construction on Oconee County’s first hotel, SpringHill Suites, should be complete in time for an early- or mid-July opening.

“We have enjoyed being partners with Oconee County with our bakery business and are excited to now have a lodging product there as well.”

Located on Daniells Bridge Road near the Oconee Connector, SpringHill Suites will feature big screen, flat panel televisions, refrigerators, microwaves, sinks, coffee makers and seemingly separate living and bedroom areas in each of the 99 studio suites.

“It’s an all suites product,” Benson continued. “There’s a breakfast area and a little market downstairs at the front desk with food, drinks, various and sundry items. There are two meeting rooms, one board room, a fitness center, an outdoor pool and plenty of parking.”

Motel Enterprises Director of Sales and Marketing Scott Norris provided further description of the county’s first hotel. According to Norris, each room will have one king or two queen beds and a pullout sofa sleeper. He also said rates will likely range from $109 to $119 per night depending on demand.

“SpringHill Suites is Marriott’s fastest growing select service product,” said Norris. “The rooms are 25 percent larger than standard guest rooms and give guests a feeling of a separate living room and bedroom area. Guests have room to stretch out if they are doing something on a laptop or want an environment suitable for a one on one conversation.”

Oconee County Commission Chairman Melvin Davis recently took a hardhat tour of the property and said he was impressed.

“They have done a nice job with that,” said Davis. “The hotel looks good and is high quality. It’s a new concept that Marriot is putting out with contemporary furnishings and bright colors.”

Davis also shared thoughts on what the hotel means for Oconee County. In addition to revenues from the hotel-motel tax contributing to the promotion of tourism, Davis said he expects the SpringHill Suites to benefit other segments of the county’s economy.

 “I believe they’re already getting bookings for weddings and interest from various groups on utilization,” Davis said. “They seem to be having good success at this point as far as marketing efforts are concerned.”

Norris echoed Davis regarding interest the hotel has already drawn from local business.

“We are very eager based on the initial response from some key local companies,” explained Norris.

“We see it as the perfect spot for a hotel venture on the 316 corridor. We absolutely want to be a great compliment to Oconee County.”

Norris was also quick to point out that SpringHill Suites is not just for business travelers.

“We look forward to this being the hotel of choice for business travelers and every resident in Oconee County whether for miniature getaways or a place to lodge their out of town guests.

“We want to be the obvious choice as a home away from home for everybody.”

Mike Sprayberry is a reporter for The Oconee Leader. He can be reached at 706-310-1104 or by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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