SEQUIM — The 77-room Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Sequim welcomed its first guests Thursday afternoon.
The grand opening of the three-story, $8.6 million inn at 1442 E. Washington St., is set for April 30, but a number of conferences and weddings are already booked, marketer Damian Humphreys said.
“There’s a lot of interest in retreats,” using the Holiday’s 2,600 square feet of meeting space, he added.
Owner Bret Wirta of Seattle is working with a bank now on funding for the Black Bear Diner, planned as the hotel’s next-door neighbor.
It could be built in time for Sequim’s late-summer tourism wave, Wirta has said.
Construction and financing delays slowed progress on the inn.
Ground was broken for construction in December 2008.
The inn was projected to open first in late 2009 and then in February 2010.
Rooms range from $119 for a standard to $149 for a suite.
