Asheville Answer Man: Hyatt Place near airport to open soon? Under construction forever?

Will Hofmann, Asheville Citizen Times
·3 min read
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ASHEVILLE - Today's burning question concerns the opening of a new hotel right next to the Asheville Regional Airport that appears to have been in the works for years and whether it will ever be open.

Got a question for Answer Man or Answer Woman? Email Executive Editor Karen Chávez at KChavez@citizentimes.com and your question could appear in an upcoming column.

Question: When is the Hyatt Hotel on Underwood Road near the airport going to open? It’s been under construction for years!

The exterior of the new Hyatt Place hotel in Arden in 2022. The hotel is now set to open March 10.
The exterior of the new Hyatt Place hotel in Arden in 2022. The hotel is now set to open March 10.

Answer: For questions like these, I wish I had a "magic development mirror" that would tell me when a new hotel, restaurant or apartment complex might be completed. Even when we might get firm dates on openings, you'd best know those dates often come with the caveat: "Well, that's if these 5,000 things go exactly as planned."

This has been the case with the Hyatt Place Asheville Airport.

The hotel has been in the works, as you say, for several years. Our coverage of the hotel goes back to 2016, but the development of the hotel officially started with a project submission to the city in 2015.

However, another hotel had actually been approved for the same site in October 2013. So, it seems a new hotel at this location has been in the works for over a decade.

I put out calls to the hotel developer, Pratik Bhakta, but was not able to reach him before press time. Fortunately, we have some good prior reporting to look back on and an update from Hyatt corporate on the location. And if the fact that the hotel is now taking reservations is any indication, the Hyatt might actually be opening soon.

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Hotel has been planned for years

The magic mirror would've been nice for a 2016 answer column on this very development, where the developer Pratik Bhakta estimated an opening date of the "latter part of 2017."

The hotel spent a couple more years in the works. The plan for the hotel was finalized with the city in 2019, with the final plan being a seven-story, 108-room hotel that includes a rooftop bar and restaurant.

A construction worker works on the exterior of the new Hyatt Place hotel in Arden in 2022. The hotel is now set to open March 10.
A construction worker works on the exterior of the new Hyatt Place hotel in Arden in 2022. The hotel is now set to open March 10.

Another answer column followed up in 2022, with, again, the project "nearing completion."

The hotel had, again, been projected to open in spring 2023, but seems the opening date was postponed to spring 2024.

However, it seems there is finally light at the end of the tunnel.

An opening date of March 10 was confirmed to me by Hyatt spokesperson Maureen Horton. The Hyatt website says that reservations for the Asheville Airport adjacent hotel are being taken for the beginning of March.

One downtown hotel is also looking to open this spring. The Flat Iron Hotel has been in the works since before the pandemic and is now accepting reservations for April, according to the hotel website.

A plane takes off from the Asheville Airport July 14, 2023.
A plane takes off from the Asheville Airport July 14, 2023.

Which hotels offer shuttle service?

With its proximity to the Asheville Regional Airport, the Hyatt Place Asheville Airport joins a list of local airports that provide shuttle service to guests.

If you have an inbound traveler who is looking for ease of access between the third-busiest airport in North Carolina and their hotel room, here's a list of hotels which provide shuttle service, according to the Asheville Airport:

  • Clarion Inn

  • Courtyard Marriott

  • Fairfield Inn

  • Hampton Inn at Asheville Outlets

  • Hampton Inn & Suites Airport

  • Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort

  • Home2 Suites by Hilton Airport

  • Hilton Biltmore Park

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Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him at WHofmann@citizentimes.com. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Answer Man: New hotel near Asheville Airport to open soon?