Be our guest: New Hampton Inn, Drury Lodge in the works for Cape Girardeau

Visitors to Cape Girardeau will have another overnight option when a new Hampton Inn opens this fall in the Park West Hospitality Complex east of Interstate 55 near the intersection of William Street and South Mount Auburn Road.

While a September opening originally was planned, the new Hampton Inn likely will first welcome guests a bit later in the year.

"The recent inclement weather means we're probably looking at an October or November opening," says Joel Niekirk, vice president of operations of Cape Girardeau-based MidAmerica Hotels Corp. "Once the building goes under roof, we can put a more definite date on it. That's when we can schedule a lot of the finish work."

The primary market for the 85-room hotel is corporate business travelers.

Interior designs of the new Hampton Inn in Cape Girardeau. (Photos submitted by MidAmerica Hotels)

"Hampton does a great job supporting services and amenities to the business traveler," Niekirk says, adding the company hopes to replicate the success of the Hampton Inn and Suites that MidAmerica Hotels owns in St. Louis.

Interior designs of the new Hampton Inn in Cape Girardeau. (Submitted by MidAmerica Hotels)

The St. Louis hotel was recognized this month by TripAdvisor as a top hotel in the Exceptional Service Category in the 2015 Travelers Choice awards, according to a news release from MidAmerica Hotels. The awards are based on millions of reviews and opinions collected from travelers visiting the 50,000 hotels operating in the United States. In addition, Hilton Hotels recognized the St. Louis hotel in March as the No. 1 location out of 2,000 Hampton locations worldwide.

"We'd like to do the same thing here in Cape Girardeau. We'd like to replicate that. It's our hometown," Niekirk says, referring to Cape Girardeau serving as the site for MidAmerica Hotels' corporate headquarters.

The current Hampton Inn -- on the west side of Interstate 55 and owned by Drury Development Corp. -- is set to phase out at about the time the new, four-story inn opens.

While Niekirk says the current Hampton Inn "will reflag to another brand," Carolyn Feltner, director of marketing of Drury Hotels, says, "No decision has been made on what's to happen to the hotel," and that various options are being considered.

Meanwhile, changes to the sprawling Drury Lodge complex north of William Street on South Vantage Drive also are on the horizon. The hotel, which had its star turn as the Drury Hotel North Carthage for the movie "Gone Girl" and served as command center for the film's Amy Dunne search, is slated for demolition beginning in January 2016.

In an email to the Southeast Missourian, Randy Kluge, director of operations for Drury Southwest Inc., owner of the approximately five-acre property, said, "Our plan is to build a new hotel on the current site of the Drury Lodge," and that the hotel likely would be 7 to 9 stories, with the goal of completion in the spring of 2017. The current facility, built as a Ramada Inn in 1969, morphed into Drury Lodge in 1985, according to Southeast Missourian archives. The two-story lodge has 140 guest rooms.

Beyond that, particulars -- the possibility of an on-site restaurant, conference capabilities and the like -- are to be determined. The email said, "We are in the planning stages for the project; details have not been finalized."

What drives the need for overnight accommodations in Cape Girardeau?

"Cape Girardeau serves as a true regional hub," says Chuck Martin, executive director of the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau. "People from throughout Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois and even parts of Western Kentucky come to Cape Girardeau to work. They come here for the outstanding medical care, education, shopping, recreation, entertainment, etc."

Martin explains the economic benefit of the hospitality industry this way: "Through February, hotel receipts, as compared to fiscal year 2014, are up 4.11 percent. Restaurant tax collections are up 4.22 percent" in the same period, Martin says.

The new Hampton Inn is under construction in Cape Girardeau. (Fred Lynch)