Holiday Inn Express Opens in Helen

HELEN, Ga. – The new 86-room Holiday Inn Express and Suites opened in Helen this week and City Manager Jerry Elkins says he’s excited about what that means to the city not only in terms of added revenue from the city’s hotel/motel tax but also in boosting tourism.

“I’m excited about it,” Elkins said Wednesday. “At certain times of the year, our hotels have been filled and visitors had to go somewhere nearby to stay. This will provide more quality lodging for our guests.”

The newest place for travelers to stay in Helen has 86 rooms and features a full hot breakfast buffet in the lobby along with a cozy fire place. There is a massive convention center for business guests that can be partitioned off to accommodate three large meeting rooms. There is also a board room for smaller meetings a heated indoor pool for relaxation and a fully equipped fitness center for exercise.

General Manager Carol Powell, who has worked for Holiday Inn for many years, says the opening of the new facility is a dream come true for her.

And more quality lodging is on the way to Helen.

The Valhalla Resort Hotel at Innsbruck broke ground this spring and is expected to open by June 2017. The Valhalla features motel accommodations as well as condo and vacation rentals.

Also the Fairfield by Marriott began grading work on its new hotel recently and Elkins said the 70-75 room hotel should be open by March or April, depending on the winter weather.

For the first time, the City of Helen collected a little more than $1 million in hotel/motel taxes during the last fiscal year and with the addition of three quality lodging facilities should be on its way to breaking that record.