OKEMOS - Despite being open since December 5, 2017, the new Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Okemos had its official grand opening ribbon cutting on Thursday.

Located on Jolly Oak Road, between Okemos Road and Jolly Road, the new hotel includes a lot of new and different amenities. There are 112 rooms in the hotel with 18 of them being suites that includes a pull out sofa to sleep additional people. The hotel also includes a pool and a new fitness center with new equipment.

The new Holiday Inn Express is right off of Interstate 96 and according to Staci Howard, the Assistant General Manager for the hotel, a lot of their guest are business travelers, Michigan State University travelers, as well as travelers from local businesses.

“We are right off of the expressway so that's another big plus,” said Howard. “Everybody gets just a little bit of a taste of the community with us.”

According to Howard, the hotel also includes a lot of personal touches. There are a few art pieces from local artists distributed through the hotel as well as a custom design carpet to make the property feel like home to their guest.

December was a slow month for the business and they are looking forward to a new year with more guest.

“We are looking forward to picking up in the future,” said Howard. “We are already picking up since the new year so it’s just going to get better from here.”