They had barely opened their doors before the first guests appeared in the Hampton Inn's lobby.
The official grand opening of the Hampton Inn was held Wednesday afternoon and people came out to get a look at what it has to offer.
"We are very excited to be serving the community's needs for travelers, business and pleasure," said John McGraw, owner of the Hampton Inn in North Warren. "There has already been a lot of interest in either staying or renting out the hotel for business conferences as well as weddings."
McGraw said general manager Karen Sobkowski has, for several months, been receiving ten to 20 phone calls a day to book rooms and has a two-page list of rooms blocked for wedding receptions.
"People will drive in every night expecting us to be open and we had to turn them away until everything was ready," said Sobkowski. "I am really glad we can finally get people into the rooms."
The highlights include a conference room which will seat 40 to 60 people, a fitness center with weights, treadmill and elliptical machines, a pool, computer room and only the Perfect Lobby built for a Hampton Inn nationally, according to McGraw.
The lobby, said McGraw, features comfortable seating, a large breakfast and snack area and other amenities, such as a flat screen TV and Internet hook-ups.
Each of the 69 rooms, including 17 suites and 12 king-sized rooms, also have wireless and wired Internet capabilities.
"I believe this is very good for Warren County to see a Hampton Inn open as the local economy endeavors to pursue having recreation and tourism activities," said Warren County Commissioner John Bortz, who attended the grand opening. "Having a flagship property like this only makes these efforts more successful."
Bortz said congratulations should be extended to Kathy and John McGraw for "showing confidence in Warren County."
Jim Decker, president and CEO of the Warren County Chamber of Business and Industry, said, "It's a beautiful addition to the hospitality of Warren."