12 photos inside the new Holiday Inn Express, now open in South End

The hotel’s exact location is 1617 S. Tryon St., an easy walk to popular neighborhood spots like Price’s Chicken Coop, Flower Child, and Leroy Fox. It’s also about a 10-minute walk from both the East/West and Bland light-rail stations.

Room rates start at $112 before taxes and fees, and include a complimentary breakfast.

The hotel’s lobby is on the second floor, an intentional move to free up about 4,700 square feet of space on the ground level for retail tenants. No leases have been signed, but expect a restaurant and a retailer.

Planning for the project began in early 2016, when the developer, Divine South End, LLC, began soliciting feedback from the community on the hotel plans. It’s smaller than a standard hotel and doesn’t have features like a full restaurant and bar. It does, however, have a breakfast dining area, along with meeting spaces, a fitness room, and a board room. 

This is the first hotel in South End. The next closest ones are on the edge of Uptown, including the Westin and Hampton Inn.

The neighborhood will eventually have even more hotel options, though. Down the street from the new Holiday Inn, the real estate firm The Spectrum Companies is building two 11-story towers at South Tryon Street and Carson Boulevard. One of the towers will be the new LendingTree headquarters, and the project will also include a 200-room boutique hotel.

OK, here’s a quick look around: